Wednesday, January 30, 2008

10 months and Spaghetti




Laney Rae is 10 months today! I was planning on giving an update on her and didn't even realize that she is exactly 10 months.

She is crawling all over the place, eating EVERYTHING, sleeping incredibly, and happy! We have a pretty good schedule, which I'm so thankful for. She is also wearing 18-24 month size of clothing. KK was walking and 1 1/2 years old in most of the stuff Laney Rae is crawling in. It is incredible how different yet special each of them are!

Laney Rae is also beginning to say a few words. She is saying 'mama', 'dada', and 'ma' (more). Out of these three words 'ma' was her first. As in, MORE food. Go figure, right? She was very intentional when she said it too.

Here are some pictures of her eating spaghetti today. As you can tell by the photos, I was prepared for this to be somewhat of a mess so I let her eat in nothing but a diaper. A bib wasn't even going to help this. I fed her a little with a spoon, but she gets very frustrated with me because I don't feed her fast enough. So, I put the spaghetti on her tray for her to feed herself and here is what I get........a gigantic marinara mess!






And this is what she gets..........a nice warm bath!


I really think she gets 2-3 baths a day. There is just not enough washcloths in this house to clean her up after a meal. The great thing is that she LOVES water and gets herself all worked up when I started running the bath water.

Laney Rae is such a joy! She is fun to be around, sweet, and smiley. I can't imagine our lives without this precious little girl.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Wanderings on Rain



(my not-so-cute boots full of rain......therefore we have RAIN BOOTS)

When so much of your life is spent outdoors, the rain can really put a damper on things......literally. We've been somewhat trapped in our home the passed four days. For us, that is a long time.

We were able to do a little work outside yesterday and plant some things in the garden. But, other than that we've been inside.

We've tried to make the best of it by keeping ourselves busy doing fun things inside. The great thing about rain is it forces my husband take a break from his work outside and he gets to come in a have fun with us too. I say 'forces' because Jason loves outside so much that he doesn't even consider it work therefore doesn't feel like he ever needs a break from being outdoors. I've been known to say a few times during these four days that "rain is God's gift to a farmer's wife."

The good things about rain are......

We make yummy 'Good fo yo bones, Chicken Noodle Soup'! I think I made so much it lasted us 3 days worth of delicious soup for lunch.
KK is learning the letter 'V' right now and so we've incorporated all of that into Valentine's themed school and bible studies learning about what love is. We decided to make every member in our family 'Love Boxes' so we could send each other love notes from now until February 14th. Since I'm a craft fanatic, I think I have more fun doing crafts than she does!

Laney Rae is drinking from a sippy cup now. She has been doing this for a while now, but here is a picture to prove it.

Jason and I have also used this time to start talking about and planning our Spring garden too. I am super excited about this! There will be more on this later.

The bad things about rain are..........

The chickens have made their way up to our front porch and have decided that this is their new home. Believe me! I have a porch-full-o-pooh to prove it. And the other bad thing is that we can't even scare them off. I will walk outside on the porch and act like a crazy person or mimic a gun shooting (which isn't really that great......I am a girl) and they just stare at me. I have been fighting with them for days to get them off only to fail in defeat every single time.

Chickens invading my porch and my cute boots.
Cruella (which is a 'dude' we now know) having a soggy bad hair day! I feel your pain man!
Look at them! It looks like they are having a town meeting to discuss the 'Porch Conspiracy'!

We often find ourselves just staring out windows looking outside. Oh how we miss you!
KK has invented ways of having fun indoors......which has nothing to do with the rain. That is in fact a pull-up on her head. She found an old package of them in her bathroom.

Monday, January 21, 2008

When life hands you 'who dos'.......



I'm ready for the 'who do' drama to be a distant memory so that is the reason for a new post. Thanks for the uplifting words everyone!

I had several encounters with people from church who all dig my new hair....or lack there of. So, now I feel like a big drama queen for nothing. It looks like Kaylyn may get this trait from me after all. Pray for the drama to cease for both of us- first with me since she is obviously watching and imitating- yikes! But, that is another story.

After the initial shock, I'm liking my 'who do' more and more. Even though, I'm not backing down on the fact that it resembles nothing of what I asked for. My ex-stylist of one day still gets a big fat F- from me. And since my hair grows at a ridiculously slow pace, I'm thinking the style I was going for will be here in about a years time.

I really almost swore off haircuts completely- as in never ever again. Wouldn't my hubby like that step in the direction of the Amish people?!?! But, I just can't do it. My quest for cute haircuts will prevail. I will continue my search thanks to a few kind words from some local gals here in Brenham.

We all know that every farmer's wife needs a cute haircut, right? Not! But, I plan on breaking the mold a bit.

When life hands you 'who dos', bake some bread!

Random, very random. But, I had to tie these two together somehow. Bare with me!

I was given this awesome recipe from a friend and fellow blogger, Rachel (thank you!!!). And I can't quit baking it. Really, the term 'baking' is somewhat shameful to use. It should be more like 'pouring' since I pretty much pour it into the bread machine and it does all the work. Kaylyn thinks it is magic. I have to admit that I do to!

I thought my search for the perfect bread recipe would be never ending. But, it came to a quick halt after one whiff and taste of this carbo-rama!

You will notice that it doesn't have a ton of ingredients in it, which is just the way we like things around here. It has passed hubby and kiddo approval. I can't make this bread fast enough!

The recipe is from Hillbilly Housewife (how fitting, right?).

Whole Wheat Bread
  • 1-2/3 cups warm tap water
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 4-2/3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Measure the ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed. Make a well in the flour and sprinkle the yeast into it. Set the machine to it's Whole Wheat Cycle. On my machine this lasts for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Press Start, and let the machine work it's magic. Remove the cooked bread from the pan after baking and allow it to cool before slicing.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy making bread is. Especially with this amazing bread machine..........



And my incredible little helper...........



KK has helped me measure all of the ingredients for each and every loaf thus far. She gets super excited when I tell her it is time to bake bread.

Another favorite thing of ours lately is using our wonderful coffee press we acquired from Heather (thanks!!) over the holidays. Coffee has taken on a whole new form in the Kramer home. Not only is this contraption simple to use and requires nothing but coffee and hot water, the coffee tastes incredible! I'm all about simplistic low maintenance kitchen gagdets....can you tell?

I look even more forward to my morning (and afternoon:) cup of coffee if that is even possible.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Haircut from Hades



*I know most of you will probably scroll on down to look at the disaster so go ahead and do that now, but come back and read the story:).

Typically people post pictures of themselves looking cute and spiffy with their new do or new whatever on their blogs. But, in this post you will not find that.

You see, today I went to get my long awaited haircut at a local salon- local meaning Brenham. I've never been to this salon before, but I called them ahead time to schedule an appointment.

The prerequisite for this salon was that we heard (which in small towns in HUGE) that this was the place to go and that all of their stylists were great.

When I called, the owner happened to answer the phone. I told her that I was looking for a great stylist to be my permanent go-to lady in Brenham and that since we've moved here, I haven't found anyone locally to cut my hair. I told her that I wanted to go back to a shorter/bob style haircut and I currently had hair passed my shoulders. Then I asked her if there was anyone that was particularly good at bobs/short cuts, to put me with her and that would be perfect.

The owner acted like I was a total doof. She replied,"If my girls weren't good at cutting hair, I wouldn't hire them in the first place." That was her remark to me.

I thought to myself- Did I say something wrong? How do you go about getting a 'new' person to cut your hair? What should one say? Should I just be okay with anyone if I already know what kind of 'do' I'm looking for?

Anyways, she hands the phone over to a stylist that was sitting beside her (she really looked into that request of mine now didn't she?) and the rest is history.

I went in today with a magazine full of pictures in my purse. The moment I saw my 'new stylist', I was delighted because she had a very cute bob.

We went back to her chair- the chair of doom. I pulled out the magazine and started showing her pictures of hairstyles that I liked. I even made reference to her hair by saying that I loved her haircut, but I wanted mine to be longer than hers- which hers was slightly passed her chin. Here are the key statements that I said to this gal:

- My hair has curl to it, so it shrinks really bad.
- I want to be able to still pull it back (with the help of bobby pins).
- I want my hair to be longer than yours.

Along with pictures, I was hoping these statements would have put us on the same page.

But, not so much.

For the dudes who have made it this far in reading (wow!), this is what a bob looks like and along the same lines of the pictures I showed her. I know you can't see the back in these photos, but I DID show her the backs of haircuts too. And I'm pretty sure the back of these look nothing like the back of mine. Any who....here they are.



The first snip took place and I even said something at this point. Which if you know me, you probably know I'm a pushover when it comes to this type of stuff.

I told her that it was going to be too short and was going to dry even short. I even looked in the mirror in shock saying over and over again,"That is so short. That is so short. That is so short."

Are you picking up what I'm putting down? It was short.

The stylist could tell I was a bit unsure of what she was doing so she tried to reassure me by saying,"Just trust me. You have curly hair and in order for it to lay straight, you have to cut it this way."

It is very hard to get a grasp on how much of what is being cut off the back of your head when you can't see it. So, I thought to myself,"Self, she seems to act like she knows what she is talking about here. So why not trust her."

And the scissors kept cutting

and cutting

and cutting

and cutting.

At this point, what do you do?

You already know your hair is a major catastrophe. I find it very hard to know what to do in these circumstances and not be rude or impolite. How do you not loose it? It is just hair, right? But, it was bad. Really bad.

When the butchering was all over, she grabbed the dreaded mirror and showed me the back of my hair. I gasped and the first words out of my mouth was,"It is so short. Oh my."

The stylist said,"Wow, girl. You look so much younger."

In that moment, I thought to myself,"Self, how much younger do you need to look? You are 26, have been married for almost 8 years, and have 2 kids. I have a problem not looking old enough to have all of that under my belt. Most people think I'm a college student. But, whatever."

So I said back to her,"I look SOMETHING, but this is some kind of short."

She replied back to me,"Well, I think you look good."

Yep. That is what she said. As if her opinion was the only one in the room that mattered. I graciously paid her and was on my way.

The minute I got in the car, the flood gates opened. It is amazing what a little tiny experience like this will show you about yourself. Up until this point, I was pretty sure I was extremely low maintenance. But, I proved myself otherwise today and that I guess hair IS a big deal to me.

Why is hair such a big deal to us ladies? It is funny isn't it when you actually sit and think about it in times of may ham like this.

I know it will grow back. But, the big downside to that is my hair grows extremely slow. I haven't had a haircut in over a year and a half, and it only grew a little passed my shoulders.

I have been into this hat phase lately too, but I put on hats with my new 'Who do' (I'm now calling it), and you can't even tell that I have hair. So, that isn't good either.

I went into to the salon to get a bob and instead, I look like BOB. Thanks!

Picture Commentary of the Who Do:

The back: Okay, now this is really bad isn't it? The back is just a nightmare. Bumps, humps, and lumps all over the place. This reminds me of the grunge 80s fad of chili bowl cuts, flannel shirts, and Docs. Wow! That's bad. My neck hair is even uneven.
The front: Obviously it was hard for me to even smile for a picture, so this is the best I could muster up. The front really isn't that bad, but it is still SOOOOOO much shorter than what I showed her.

There you have it folks. Brenham hair gone bad. I like to make fun of myself so I'm trying to be the best sport about this. But, it still hurts my heart having no hair on the back of my neck.

The only positive thing about this is that I'm ALWAYS ready for my neck sugars from my hubby since my neck is exposed all of the time now.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Diary of a Farmer's Wife, Chapter One





This story is piggy backing off of Jason's story that was told on his blog HERE. But, since farmer Jason only told 1/4 of the story, I have to tell the rest.

He was out collecting eggs (a nightly routine of ours) and found a GI-NORMOUS egg in one of the coops. I knew it was some egg because I was sitting at my computer and three different times he repeated,"Babe, you HAVE to come and see this egg." So, on the third one I was up on my feet and headed to the kitchen.

As I entered the kitchen, I saw the biggest egg that I had ever seen! Being the wife/photographer that I am, I grabbed my camera and starting taking pictures of this thing to express my interest in this phenomenon to my husband. Little did I know that I was actually going to capture a pretty funny story in the process.

Jason said he looked for a chicken that was limping around in pain, but he had no such luck finding one for a photo of the impressive chick who laid this thing. That is like giving birth to a 10 pounder! These are the pictures that I took to tell the story of the gigantic egg!

Comparison shots







Fat egg in a little carton!


This is where the story gets funny.

I put on my lens cap at this point in the photo shoot thinking that I had done my duty of capturing this GI-NORMOUS egg. As I was putting on my lens cap, I heard an extremely loud noise and our whole house shook.

This is the actual moment, this was not re-staged!


Jason literally fell down on the floor in the kitchen and I took off running with my camera in tote to capture this moment- whatever it was.

All he could scream was,"Awe man! Awe man! Awe man!"

I thought that the egg mutated and hatched a little Gremlin that started attacking my husband. Or that we were about to be bombed by Al Queda and I was the only adult in my house not in 'the know'. Those were the two things running through my head. The way that Jason was acting, was as if the world as we know it was coming to an end.

But, in fact this is what happened to cause such a ruckus to emerge from Jason.

Egg drippage


The egg splattered as he was taking it out of the carton because as you've seen in the above photos, the egg was not going to fit. He was so upset.

Not only would Charolette have deemed this egg to be 'Some Egg', it was also a double-yolker which made it extra special to Jason. I know the minute that egg took up residence in this home, Jason was looking forward to the day that egg touched our cast iron skillet. Funny, I know! But, if you know Jason at all this would be a typical thought process of his.

Look at all of that yolk, people!

Can we say 'drama farmer'? After this story, it explained a lot to us about where our oldest gets her drama skills from. The mystery is now solved. And I captured every single bit of it on camera from beginning to end.

I love you so much, Jace! Life with you is never dull or boring. Boo yah!

Now, we are living one less- notice how all of the eggs are perfectly alternated according to their color. Jason has mad farmer skills.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Security in Christ




This morning as I was buckling Kaylyn in her car seat, I remembered this sweet lady that we met for a brief moment at Round Top this passed October. We were prancing around her antique booth when she stopped us dead in our tracks.

She gently put her hand on my arm and asked me a question with the most sincere yet panic-stricken look on her face. There was a sense of urgency in her voice. She acted as if she was on a quest.

"Do you have a 5-point harness car seat for you oldest daughter?" she asked as she glanced at our blonde beauty.

"Yes, we do," I said. I thought the question was a bit odd, but I could tell that it was a big deal to this lady.

"Good. Because- I don't know if you have heard about this- there was an awful accident in Houston a while back and a little boy about the age of your daughter was killed because he wasn't wearing a 5-point harness car seat. His parents thought they were doing the right thing by having in him a car seat. They just didn't know it wasn't the safest one for him."

We talked with this gem of a lady for a few moments and Jason and I assured her that our car seats were safe. I mean, he is a fireman after all. We thanked her for her concern and bid her farewell.

Her final words to us were,"I'm trying to warn everyone I see out here with children in car seats about this. I just can't imagine loosing a child to something like that."

You could tell she had a loving heart. She acted as if she wouldn't rest until her quest were through.

I'm not making this story up. This actually happened. And for some reason, this story crept back into my memory today as we were loading up in the car. I sat and thought about it for a moment.

How many times do I warn people of things like this?

Don't use Teflon cookware or it will kill you.

Don't use deodorant with aluminum in it or it will kill you.

Don't eat mango skins or they will kill you (not really, but it is a very high allergen- thanks honey:).

Don't drink soy milk. It has estrogen in it and will cause you to grow boobs if you are a dude or start puberty at 6 if you are a girl and are also 6 (exaggeration intended).

The list goes on for me. Although I mean well, and so do others when things of this sort come up in conversation, they matter really little in the grand scheme of things.

I'm so willing to warn people of the dangers of all of this earthly stuff that will make life a little more comfortable and safer while we are here on this earth, but what about the realities of heaven and hell?

The comforts of heaven are real and the agonies of hell are real.

What about asking those who are closest to me how their walk with the Lord is going?

Is it thriving and growing?

Is there something I could be going to the Father on their behalf for?

What about those who cross my path during the daily stuff of life and their salvation?

Does it even resonate in my heart that they might be spending eternity in a place that is too awful to even comprehend?

Why is it easier to talk about the dangers of skillets, seat belts, and soy than it is to talk about Jesus? Ughhhh! Just writing that makes me sick. I hate that this is what our society has become. A bunch of scaredy cats......and of the WRONG things! I'm not advocating that we all run around scared of the Lord. But, that we fear His wrath for ourselves and for others if we aren't living a life that pleases Him.

The truth is, none of that other stuff even matters in comparison to having a love relationship with the Lord. Cooking in cast iron won't get you into heaven. Nor will wearing deodorant with aluminum in it condemn you to hell. These things matter very little to the Lord.

Sure, honoring your bodies, treating it as a temple, and offering it as a living sacrifice is an overflow of your love for Him. But, if you don't know the very one who made your body and knows every detail about you what does all of that 'other stuff' even matter?

Our society is full of warning signs to make our lives here on this earth a little safer. It seems as though everything has a warning label on it these days. Some of them even stating the obvious when it comes to warning you of dangers.

If you don't believe me, just read the warning label on a cup of coffee at McDonald's. It says 'Caution. Contents may be hot.' Really? I sure hope my cup of joe is hot. But, not too hot that I have to wait 30 minutes to drink it........because that would be wrong.

What if the tables were turned and I were going up to random people at Round Top asking them if they knew Jesus and where they were going to spend eternity? I would be labeled a loony bird or a crazy person. Maybe people who claim to know the Lord would go so far as to label me as being pocessed since our culture as 'dumbed down Christianity' and would be in shock to see someone witnessing to another in the middle of a crowded street. Whatever the case, most people would probably run far away from me and not turn back. And although I probably won't be doing this (unless led by the Spirit to do so), I wonder how many times I shy away from talking about stuff that really DOES matter.

I desire to be so connected with the Lord that I can hear Him speak to me as I go about my days. I want to be able to hear Him say 'Tell her about me' or 'Encourage him today in my name' or 'Pray for them right now'. No one comes to the Father unless they are led and guided there by Him to begin with (John 14:6). We just get the joy of being His instruments in the orchestra of life. How many times have I missed His voice because I was scared of what others might think of me?

This precious woman really believed in her heart that she had to warn well-meaning parents of the dangers of not using the right car seat. These were people who were complete strangers to her. She wasn't scared of what we thought about her. In her mind, it was the right thing to do. She had nothing to loose, but everything to gain.

I know this post contains a lot of questions. These are questions that flooded through my mind as I recalled this incident. It is funny how the Holy Spirit uses things like this to speak to me and months later for that matter. He used this seemingly insignificant story to speak to me.

Praise the Lord that He IS speaking to me. I rest in that- fully knowing that I am His child. He speaks to me. Praise the Lord!

He has placed a sense of urgency in my heart. He is speaking to me about Him wanting and needing me to care more about the eternal seat belts of my family, friends, and people I come in contact with.

Are they fastened in securely with Christ?

After all, that is what matters. The greatest warning sign I could ever speak over someone is warning them that hell is a real place.......and the fires will burn forever.

But, the GOOD NEWS is that heaven is also real. And Jesus will greet those who KNOW HIM- not KNOW OF Him- with open arms at the gates of heaven. And we will get to sing praises to His name forever and worship Him with those who said 'Yes' to the calling of His name.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

KK's gone huntin', Laney Rae is standing (sort of)




Yesterday was a fun day. We got to hang out around the house and play.

Kaylyn has turned into quite the outdoors gal. She has been fascinated with deer. But, not like the one in Bambi.

Jason has gone hunting the passed few weeks every morning. He got (nice way of saying 'shot') a deer before Christmas. Our freezer has thanked him for it and so has my belly. The deer is really delicious!

And did I mention he processed it (meaning skinned, cleaned, gutted, chopped up, and ground up) himself? The man is amazing. And did I mention that KK watched? Wow. We are turning into regular ole' hillbillies.

She has been asking for a while to go hunting with him. We've prepared her every single time she has asked by saying things like 'You know daddy has to shoot the deer with his gun to get the deer?' and 'Hunting requires that you be completely still and quiet. We don't know if you even know what those two words mean.' We've pretty much said everything except for 'The deer will die and be blasted into smithereens'. And yet, she still would reply that she wanted to go......every time.

This evening Jason woke KK up from her nap to see if she wanted to go hunting with daddy. She quickly woke up and leaped out of bed.

Jason had on his camouflage shirt and KK, being the fashion diva glamazon that she is, noticed that she DID NOT. We designed a make-shift hunting get up just for her. But, it HAD to be a camo dress.

Here is the 'design' and all its glory. We even had to make a hat out of the sleeve of the shirt because 'the deer would see her blonde hair' as she so eloquently put it.







Gotta love girls. Jason surely is the BEST sport about being surrounded by all of these females! KK will look back and treasure these moments she went hunting with daddy. Apparently she did really well. She didn't feel 'official' enough in the camping chairs that Jason brought for them to sit in. Instead, she wanted to relish in the full experience and climb up the tree in the deer stand.

When I went back inside the house from taking these photos and seeing my two precious hunters off, I was greeted by Laney Rae like this.






Homegirl was standing in her bed! She isn't even crawling yet. Jason and I really think she is going to skip crawling and go straight to walking. In the meantime, she just bounces everywhere.

Needless to say, there were a few 'firsts' in the Kramer home today.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Good ole' recipes times 2




I've been trying to get even more creative with our recipe collection of healthy dishes.

I still have yet to find a good homemade whole wheat bread recipe without any white flour that can easily be made without a bread machine. But, then again I haven't really looked very hard either nor attempted to make a loaf more than once. There are so many out there. So, if you know of one feel free to pass it along. Jason will be thrilled.

In the meantime, we've come to like this Ezekiel bread. You can find it in your grocer's freezer in the health/bread section. The texture is a bit stiff for my liking, but the health benefits are wonderful. My search still continues for homemade bread.

However, I have successfully mastered an amazing homemade cornbread recipe that goes great with a pot of soup or chili on a cold winter's day.

Healthy Cornbread

1 cup of Cornmeal (Bob's Red Mill Cornmeal, Medium Grind- flour/baking isle)

1 cup Stone Ground Whole Wheat (Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 tsp Salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp of Sugar (optional- we use Organic Evaporated Cane Juice)

1 egg
1 cup Goat's milk (trust me here, it is good:)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir really well making sure all ingredients are evenly dispersed. Coat a cast iron skillet with olive oil really well. If you don't have cast iron, use a glass dish (the next best healthy thing to bake with). Still coat the glass with olive oil. Pour cornbread mixture into skillet/dish and bake for 20 minutes.

The texture of this cornbread is amazing. And so soft too! We love this stuff with a touch of honey drizzled on top.

Here are a few other recipes that have been cooked, tasted, and approved!

Chicken and Cabbage Soup

4 cups of chicken (shredded and picked off bone)
4 cups of Organic free-range chicken broth

3 cups of water

6 red potatoes cut into cubes

1 1/2 cups carrots (shredded or sliced....which ever you prefer)

3 cups of chopped cabbage

1 white onion chopped up

1 bushel of chopped parsley

2 tbsp of garlic

Dash of red pepper (be careful not to add too much because it will be spicy)

1 tbsp of celery salt

Salt

Pepper


Bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Cabbage is soooooo good for you. The only problem is actually eating it. This soup is a great way to get cabbage incorporated into your diet and taste really well too! I'm serious. My house didn't STINK at all when I cooked this.

Chicken, Lime, & Cilantro Pasta

3 cups of chicken (cooked and cubed)
1/2 chopped white onion
artichoke hearts (not marinated in oil, but vinegar)
1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 cup Organic free-range chicken broth
1 bushel of chopped cilantro
2 limes
1 tbsp Nutmeg
2 tbsp Garlic
Salt
Pepper
1 box Whole Wheat Penne pasta (we use Heartland)

Prepared chicken as you normally would. I cook mine in a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Sometimes I boil a whole chicken and pick it off the bone. It just depends what I have on hand. Boil noodles as directed. Place all ingredients except for broth and lime in a cast iron skillet and saute together on medium high heat for 15 minutes. Add broth and squeeze lime into the pasta. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir pasta and mixture together. You can always increase lime if you prefer more. Yummy!

Deliciously Healthy Salad Dressing

2 cloves of Garlic
Lime Juice (I like a lot!!)
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
One Part Apple Cider Vinegar
One Part Balsamic Vinegar
One Part Olive Oil

Whisk all ingredients together and serve over your favorite salad. Apple Cider Vinegar is AMAZING for your body. Read more about that HERE. We love this salad dressing. And this is a great way for me to eat ACV without having to guzzle it down.

For other healthy recipes, you view those from a previous post HERE.




Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The blog has arrived!




I'm so thrilled and excited to announce that Farmer Jason has posted his very first post on his very own blog!

I can't wait for you to see and learn about Yonder Way Farm through his eyes and heart. He truly is gifted with passion and knowledge about turning our farm into something unlike anything in this area.

I love this man more than this blog post could do justice. I'm just plain ole' excited that you get to learn more about this incredible man that I adore and take a peak at what goes on inside his bald head.

I have been encouraging him for quite a while now about starting a blog that contained the daily happenings around the farm. He is a big journal-er (word?) and has a journal filled with farm facts.

I love that he walks out to the rain gauge every time it rains to see how much rain we received....and writes it in his journal.

I love that he knows how long the cows have been on their particular pad grazing for however many days in ALL 31 pads........and writes it in his journal.

I love that he knows the temperature for that day, the week before that, and the week after that........and writes it in his journal.

I love that he is the chicken whisperer, cow whisperer, goat whisperer, pig whisperer, and Rowdy whisperer all rolled up into one person. (just kidding.......not really:)

I love that he knows exactly how many eggs our chickens have laid since we've had them. I just asked him this question and this was his answer. Really. I'm not kidding.

"Honey, how many eggs have our chickens laid since we've had them?" (I KNEW that he knew the answer. How is that for confidence?)

"Total?"

"Yes."

"Jimminy crickets. Well let's see. We've probably averaged 6 eggs per day. Times 30 days a month which is 180 eggs times 6 months which is 1,080 eggs."

I'm not even kidding the man is incredible with numbers. He said his 'hobby' during one of our premarital counseling sessions that his 'hobby' was playing with numbers. Ha! Who knew he'd use this 'hobby' in farming.

I love that he knows every minute detail about this farm and what makes it tick.

His prayer is his vision and his vision is his prayer.

Go see what he is up to and subscribe to it (I use bloglines.com to subsribe)! I highly recommend it.

FARMER JASON'S BLOG


This link will also be conveniently located to the right of this blog.