So these little biddies have caused a bit of drama. Theres a thing called chicken math in the poultry world that occurs when one becomes an owner of a chicken.. it goes a little like this..
See a chick, buy 1, but can't have one because they are a flock animal, so grab 3 more. One dies, replace with 2. These were from the straight run bin so 3 of the 5 are roosters. No roosters allowed, so the three go, replace with 2 more per roo. Now we have 8. Coon gets in, kills a chicken. Replace with 2 Bantam (mini) chickens because 2 Bantams=1 standard sized chicken. Coop becomes too small for 9 chickens. Coop addition is 3 times as big so that means.. 3 times the chickens........
See where Im going with this???
Chicken Math at our house goes like this:
He said 3, I said 5, bought 4. Wanted a fancy chicken so bought one more. One chicken was not what it was supposed to be so it was gone, and to replace it I got 2 more. Another turned to be a roo and off the the farm he went as well. Stop in to look at some chicks, and, well we got rid of 2, need 2 more. so now we are at 7 once again (unless anyone asks and then we only have 3..shhhh).
Yep, Lucy the Roo had to go to the farm, he was a little too manly to stay around here. His crow would give him away. Brent has a wonderful bartering technique called.."sure! go ahead and get more!" all with the sinister tone in the background, knowing fully that I cannot say a peep when its his turn to aquire something. It all evens out in the end.
So on the way home from vacation, we stopped and picked up 2 more hens. These are a little smaller and younger than the ones we have already and I knew there might be some problems. And problems there were. After I let the girls out of the coop this morning everyone looked great. Bridget checked on them and came in saying she thought the little one was dead. I rush out there and sure enough.. her head was all bloodied, but she was walking around when I got to her and I could tell it was an ugly situation.
I isolated her and seeked information on the great www and doctored her up quickly. After giving her food and water she perked up a lot and I felt hopeful she would make it. I set up the playpen and brought her friend in to be with her and she was a lot more content and her head was looking so much better by late afternoon. Poor thing had gotten pecked so hard they pulled feathers out and pierced a hole in her head and pecked at her earlobe.
Tonight, after work I moved her and sister to the dog kennel outside as it is so hot and they dont tolerate heat too well. It was much better outside where there was at least a breeze. So I think our chicken little is going to make it. Once she heals up I will integrate them back into the flock. As for now.. a fence is in the planning phase. The girls are going to need more space so more space is what they are going to get. I am at terms with the fact that we have more than enough chickens now. I think the Chicken Math will stop here.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thinner Thursday!
Well, it was weigh in time again. I like to weigh on the same scale and since we were out of town I missed my Monday weigh-in so I did it Wednesday morning instead. I would be lying if I said I was excited. In fact, I almost didn't do it til next Monday so I would be more likely to see a loss.
We had been up in Whitebird/Grangeville since Saturday and had eaten our share of Lions burgers, Long Dogs, Rhubarb crisp (homemade by moi), tamales, pizza (twice) and salt water taffy, so I was a bit nervous. On Sunday I decided to go for a walk and ended up doing more like a hike. But it was great. I managed to work in some exercise and get away from the craziness that comes with 5 kids being out of their normal territory for a few days.
So it was the moment of truth and I stepped up on the scale and lo and behold, Miracles do happen. I managed to lose weight on vacation. In fact, I met my goal I had set for myself to be at a certain weight by July 4th. I have officially lost 16.2 lbs. I am lighter now than I have been in 5 years when Gavin was born.
I thought back to how I ate this weekend and really I made some good choices. I passed up a hamburger late one night after the rodeo, and a Soft Pretzel. We passed up the Strawberry Shortcake tent, and when I was hungry, I snacked on almonds or fruit. I drank most of my water each day and have continued to survive on my 2 small cups of coffee also. It would be safe to say that before I was drinking the equalivant of 5-6 cups of coffee, with tons of sugar and cream. So to say its a diet is not true, this is a lifestyle change. Im in it for the long haul and feel like this will be the real deal. I hit 60 days following Myfitnesspal and intend on logging in every day to remind myself to be accountible.
Who said you have to eat tofu and lettuce to lose weight? Its all about moderation.
We had been up in Whitebird/Grangeville since Saturday and had eaten our share of Lions burgers, Long Dogs, Rhubarb crisp (homemade by moi), tamales, pizza (twice) and salt water taffy, so I was a bit nervous. On Sunday I decided to go for a walk and ended up doing more like a hike. But it was great. I managed to work in some exercise and get away from the craziness that comes with 5 kids being out of their normal territory for a few days.
So it was the moment of truth and I stepped up on the scale and lo and behold, Miracles do happen. I managed to lose weight on vacation. In fact, I met my goal I had set for myself to be at a certain weight by July 4th. I have officially lost 16.2 lbs. I am lighter now than I have been in 5 years when Gavin was born.
I thought back to how I ate this weekend and really I made some good choices. I passed up a hamburger late one night after the rodeo, and a Soft Pretzel. We passed up the Strawberry Shortcake tent, and when I was hungry, I snacked on almonds or fruit. I drank most of my water each day and have continued to survive on my 2 small cups of coffee also. It would be safe to say that before I was drinking the equalivant of 5-6 cups of coffee, with tons of sugar and cream. So to say its a diet is not true, this is a lifestyle change. Im in it for the long haul and feel like this will be the real deal. I hit 60 days following Myfitnesspal and intend on logging in every day to remind myself to be accountible.
Who said you have to eat tofu and lettuce to lose weight? Its all about moderation.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
I'm a slacker
I know I keep saying I am going to keep current on this thing so I dont have to keep making catch up posts, I just seem to forget to do it. Which is a shame because I have sooo much to talk about. I don't even know where to start. I suppose I will do a little update for now and try to keep it up to date after this.
Weightloss: I missed Thinner Thursday which is a damn shame because I have big news! On Monday, I hit my first 10 lbs lost! And I did it the right way, in 35 days I lost 10 lbs. This isn't even the greatest thing. I was doing a video that is supposed to take 30 days. I got through day 5 and quit. I didn't quit exercising though and have actually began waking up at 7 at least 2 days a week and going for a jog. I also hit the gym for 45 min- 1 hour 3 days a week. I have been on Myfitnesspal for 40 days now and have stayed within my caloric limits every, single day. I have been able to turn down deserts, chocolate, soda, and even large amounts of carb-laden breads and crackers. I count EVERYTHING. Seriously folks.. this is big.
On another note. When I started this lifestyle change, I had no idea what I wanted to accomplish.. I wanted to love myself, I wanted to be comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to shop from regular racks of clothing and I wanted to feel good. About 2 weeks in, I decided to try jogging. Now you have to understand I was never a very athletic person. When I played softball I pretended to be in decent shape. However this is a girl who used to have her big sister forge notes to school excusing me from PE because I just didn't like to exercise (sorry mom). I don't think I could ever do a pull up or a push up. I remember running in elementary school for Farrar Fun Day and we had to do a mile race and I came in next to last. So when I got on the treadmill and started running, I could barely run for a minute and a half. It was pretty embarassing. About a week and a half later, I made it 5 minutes and literally cried afterwards. I went back to intervals after that and didn't try again, until today. After doing a walking warm up I sped the machine up to a mere 4.4 MPH and began jogging. It felt good so I didn't stop...until 13.5 minutes later, when I completed a whole mile. It was exhilirating. When people talk about a runners high, now I know what that means. I can't wait to try it again.
Cooking: I haven't tried a lot of new things lately, but I am working on a new weekly menu for the upcoming weeks and plan on including some new (and healthy) meals. Brent loves Rhubarb, so I bought a couple stalks and made some rhubarb muffins and they were actually really good. They apparently needed a little more rhubarb, but for the most part, everyone loved them. This week was also the first of out CSA deliveries. I am 100% impressed. Included in out basket, was a sweet and spicy salad mix, pak choy, romaine lettuce, radishes, scallions, a basil plant, asparagus and a bag of cherries. I didn't expect that much since we only have half a share, but I am not complaining. I need to learn how to cook pak choy, and finish up the asparagus and salad mix. I can't wait to see what this weeks basket will include.
Chickens: They are really growing. I am almost positive Lucy, is a rooster. This makes me sad, because I loved the breed and she was supposed to be a brown egg layer. If she were a girl, I would have 3 brown egg layers, 2 small white egg layers, and one "easter-egger" whose egg would be blue or green. Now I will likely be losing a brown egg layer, which happen to be the larger eggs. They are also turning into pooping brats. They poop..a lot. I only let them out for a few hours a day but am having to clean out their coop pretty regularly. As it gets warmer I have to keep it really clean in there. They also managed to destroy 2 of my raspberry plants. This weekend I am going to rig something around the remaining 2 before they decide to eat them too. I also had to move one of my pansies since they plucked all the flowers off the first one and were starting on that one. Brats...
Kids: Last weekend we visited the camp where Taylor and Bridget will be going in July for a week. I really think they will enjoy it. This weekend they are with their dad up at his dads doing their annual June fishing trip. Update from today is that they have already racked up a lot of fish and they just got there this morning. So for the weekend its me and the three little kidlets. Today we went to see "Rio" which was wonderful! It was a darling movie and I recommend it to any and all, old and young. After that we came home, took a nap and then went to dinner at Ihop (still managing to stay under my goal). On the way home, Gavin proclaimed that "this has been a fun day". Success. I have plans for the next couple of days but I am pretty worn out from today.
Thats most of the big news. I have so much to keep me busy but thankfully exercising has given me more energy than before so I do accomplish more than when I was sitting on my butt all the time. I will make an honest attempt to keep this up to date a little more.
Weightloss: I missed Thinner Thursday which is a damn shame because I have big news! On Monday, I hit my first 10 lbs lost! And I did it the right way, in 35 days I lost 10 lbs. This isn't even the greatest thing. I was doing a video that is supposed to take 30 days. I got through day 5 and quit. I didn't quit exercising though and have actually began waking up at 7 at least 2 days a week and going for a jog. I also hit the gym for 45 min- 1 hour 3 days a week. I have been on Myfitnesspal for 40 days now and have stayed within my caloric limits every, single day. I have been able to turn down deserts, chocolate, soda, and even large amounts of carb-laden breads and crackers. I count EVERYTHING. Seriously folks.. this is big.
On another note. When I started this lifestyle change, I had no idea what I wanted to accomplish.. I wanted to love myself, I wanted to be comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to shop from regular racks of clothing and I wanted to feel good. About 2 weeks in, I decided to try jogging. Now you have to understand I was never a very athletic person. When I played softball I pretended to be in decent shape. However this is a girl who used to have her big sister forge notes to school excusing me from PE because I just didn't like to exercise (sorry mom). I don't think I could ever do a pull up or a push up. I remember running in elementary school for Farrar Fun Day and we had to do a mile race and I came in next to last. So when I got on the treadmill and started running, I could barely run for a minute and a half. It was pretty embarassing. About a week and a half later, I made it 5 minutes and literally cried afterwards. I went back to intervals after that and didn't try again, until today. After doing a walking warm up I sped the machine up to a mere 4.4 MPH and began jogging. It felt good so I didn't stop...until 13.5 minutes later, when I completed a whole mile. It was exhilirating. When people talk about a runners high, now I know what that means. I can't wait to try it again.
Cooking: I haven't tried a lot of new things lately, but I am working on a new weekly menu for the upcoming weeks and plan on including some new (and healthy) meals. Brent loves Rhubarb, so I bought a couple stalks and made some rhubarb muffins and they were actually really good. They apparently needed a little more rhubarb, but for the most part, everyone loved them. This week was also the first of out CSA deliveries. I am 100% impressed. Included in out basket, was a sweet and spicy salad mix, pak choy, romaine lettuce, radishes, scallions, a basil plant, asparagus and a bag of cherries. I didn't expect that much since we only have half a share, but I am not complaining. I need to learn how to cook pak choy, and finish up the asparagus and salad mix. I can't wait to see what this weeks basket will include.
Chickens: They are really growing. I am almost positive Lucy, is a rooster. This makes me sad, because I loved the breed and she was supposed to be a brown egg layer. If she were a girl, I would have 3 brown egg layers, 2 small white egg layers, and one "easter-egger" whose egg would be blue or green. Now I will likely be losing a brown egg layer, which happen to be the larger eggs. They are also turning into pooping brats. They poop..a lot. I only let them out for a few hours a day but am having to clean out their coop pretty regularly. As it gets warmer I have to keep it really clean in there. They also managed to destroy 2 of my raspberry plants. This weekend I am going to rig something around the remaining 2 before they decide to eat them too. I also had to move one of my pansies since they plucked all the flowers off the first one and were starting on that one. Brats...
Kids: Last weekend we visited the camp where Taylor and Bridget will be going in July for a week. I really think they will enjoy it. This weekend they are with their dad up at his dads doing their annual June fishing trip. Update from today is that they have already racked up a lot of fish and they just got there this morning. So for the weekend its me and the three little kidlets. Today we went to see "Rio" which was wonderful! It was a darling movie and I recommend it to any and all, old and young. After that we came home, took a nap and then went to dinner at Ihop (still managing to stay under my goal). On the way home, Gavin proclaimed that "this has been a fun day". Success. I have plans for the next couple of days but I am pretty worn out from today.
Thats most of the big news. I have so much to keep me busy but thankfully exercising has given me more energy than before so I do accomplish more than when I was sitting on my butt all the time. I will make an honest attempt to keep this up to date a little more.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Joy of Home-ownership
The weather finally warned up this weekend. It was FREEZING all last week and felt more like April than the first week of June. But yesterday and today have been great, in fact its hard to not complain about the heat when it was barely 55 two days before and today its 80. With the good weather though we have been able to get a few things done around the house.
When we moved into the house it had three rosebushes in the front landscaping surrounded by the ever-growing creeping myrtle and a "border" of large River rock. I knew this stuff had to go. Brent immediately cut down the unkept roses and I began to pull out the myrtle. This is a before pic, but after the roses.
Yep, instead of a border, this rock was covering the entire flower bed. It was pretty brutal. It took me a few sessions to actually get it all out and cleared. After generously donating the rock to the first person willing to come haul it away, I had a clear bed.
Finally I have the creative freedom to do what I like with a space. Speaking of, we have made a few additions to the backyard. Brent has his Rhubarb plant we picked up at our CSA Farm, Spyglass Gardens , and a neighbor was thinning out her Raspberry bushes so I took 4.
Now if we can only keep these crazy girls out of them!
I know, they look so innocent, but they are sneaky. They like my pansies and sneak into the rhubarb and I have caught them pecking at the raspberries. I have so many other projects, and not enough time but slowly we are getting it done. Tackling the minor problems is nice, but thinking about the major ones is daunting. For example, installing the microwave, repairing the drywall, needing some concrete poured and some miscellaneous handyman work done too, not to mention having a new kitchen faucet installed. It seems the list is never ending. The lawn sprinklers need work, a garden bed built for next year, weeding to be done, always trimming on the willow tree (blasted thing), knocking down bee hives, mowing the lawn. And this is just the things I can think of off the top of my head not even counting all the cleaning to be done and laundry. I find it is hard to do the indoor things when It is nice outside. Id much rather be out doing yard work. Maybe someday we will get around to finishing unpacking too.
When we moved into the house it had three rosebushes in the front landscaping surrounded by the ever-growing creeping myrtle and a "border" of large River rock. I knew this stuff had to go. Brent immediately cut down the unkept roses and I began to pull out the myrtle. This is a before pic, but after the roses.
Once I got digging, this is what I found under all the myrtle.
Yep, instead of a border, this rock was covering the entire flower bed. It was pretty brutal. It took me a few sessions to actually get it all out and cleared. After generously donating the rock to the first person willing to come haul it away, I had a clear bed.
Finally I have the creative freedom to do what I like with a space. Speaking of, we have made a few additions to the backyard. Brent has his Rhubarb plant we picked up at our CSA Farm, Spyglass Gardens , and a neighbor was thinning out her Raspberry bushes so I took 4.
Now if we can only keep these crazy girls out of them!
I know, they look so innocent, but they are sneaky. They like my pansies and sneak into the rhubarb and I have caught them pecking at the raspberries. I have so many other projects, and not enough time but slowly we are getting it done. Tackling the minor problems is nice, but thinking about the major ones is daunting. For example, installing the microwave, repairing the drywall, needing some concrete poured and some miscellaneous handyman work done too, not to mention having a new kitchen faucet installed. It seems the list is never ending. The lawn sprinklers need work, a garden bed built for next year, weeding to be done, always trimming on the willow tree (blasted thing), knocking down bee hives, mowing the lawn. And this is just the things I can think of off the top of my head not even counting all the cleaning to be done and laundry. I find it is hard to do the indoor things when It is nice outside. Id much rather be out doing yard work. Maybe someday we will get around to finishing unpacking too.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Thinner Thursday!
I had a different post planned for today but wanted to do a quick update. I decided to change my weigh in day back to Mondays. I joined a group in a forum and we report on Monday so I changed it.
So, since I had to report in this week I re-weighed with great results. I'm officially down another 2.2 for a total of 6.2 in 21 days. I am completely thrilled. It is the most I have been able to do in a long time.
Another great moment is I have been able to jog a little. Granted not far or for long but I am able to do something I've always had avoided and, I enjoy it!
Well I'll have another post for tomorrow but for now, ta-ta.
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