Week 9

Sorry I'm so late in writing this week! Time flies when you have a visitor.

Farm happenings- this week we discovered that Chicken has mites/lice so she got sprayed with diluted permethrin. So far so good! Will check her in a couple days & give you an update!

EATING HEALTHY- we had great family time making our own HOMEMADE pizza dough. It was great watching the kids pat out & roll dough! They created their own pizzas it was so much fun!

MOVIES-Rock of Ages- was funny!
Joyful Noise- was great& funny!
I don't know how she does it- funny & great for moms!

READING- ANY book by Janet Evanovich if you like romantic comedy!!! Still reading
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion so far it's OK. Researching some more on homemade stuff- like lotion, Chapstick so far it looks like when we are done with what we have I'm going to give it a go!

NO CHEMICALS- doing great & finding some recipes for lotion, Chapstick & even my daughters Eczema!
Eczema lotion--- I AM NOT A DOCTOR, I researched what helps with eczema & created the following:
A&D ointment
vitamin E oil
olive oil
3 drops tea tree oil
glycerin.
- Warmed all ingredients in a double boiler & slowly stirred everything together. Poured into an old CLEANED lotion bottle. Let sit overnight to harden up a bit. This recipe is too thick to put in a pump style bottle. I made about 3 oz to try.

Let me tell you it works GREAT for Adyson's eczema. It soaks into your skin, not greasy, the smell is OK,not the greatest BUT I don't want perfumes/anything that will make her eczema worse. After 1 application her sores were smooth, less red, less itchy & smaller!!! Going to keep you up to date on this recipe.

BRAIN GAMES- haven't played any. Been busy researching!

I hope everyone had a great week & see you next week!!

Week 8 I have a Visitor!!!!

This week has been rather calm, other then more phone issues. I still can't get my phone right. Apple says my iCloud is goofed up. Now my phone is telling me there is another update. Great!!!! Ughhh....

FARM HAPPENINGS- 

Last week was Adyson's birthday and my neighbors got her a chicken. She is so proud of that chicken. She named it, "Girl Chicken". I must admit it was a shock to get a chicken, I had no clue we were getting one but glad we did. Adyson feels like she has something to do! It gives her great accomplishment to feed and water and play with Chicken. 

FAMILY TIME- This week my Aunt Nancy decided to give farm living a try and wanted to come visit us for a while. So she is staying with us. Its great having her here! Last week was my mother's birthday and Uncle Darrell drove through TN. He stopped and saw us for a little while. Adyson thought it was great seeing the big truck! 

HEALTHY EATING- This week since I didn't know what Aunt Nancy would eat, we have been "winging" it all week. 

EXERCISE- Woke up sore the morning after mucking stalls. I scraped it down to the ground and filled with new bedding. Doing a little walking since the weather has been decent! Using dumbbells and watching TV! 

ORGANIZING- Nothing new this week! 

READING- I read a few essential oil/aromatherapy books. Learning about which essential oils help you such as Tea Tree oil is a great oil to have on hand for skin issues and a lice, flea, tick repellent! REMEMBER YOU NEED TO DILUTE ALL ESSENTIAL OILS before you use them. Please read up on essential oils before you take my word for anything. I am NOT an expert in this field, I simply read books, articles online, etc.  I do admit the Tea Tree Oil about 5-8 drops in the bath with Adyson has helped her eczema. 

Aromatherapy Massage by Clare Maxwell Hudson- This is a wonderful book for your basic oils and massage techniques. 

Aromatherapy Handbook by Erich Keller -This book is a little older (1990's) gave some great  recipes for homemade beauty products. 

OHHHH, I did get my book from the library Warm Bodies, I'll be reading it this week! 

NO CHEMICALS- The furniture polish works WONDERS. I am very pleased! My homemade laundry soap is working wonders!!! I do have to make more fabric softener! 

I have saved my jug from my last fabric softener so this recipe is for my size bottle, 64 oz.

FABRIC SOFTENER

16 oz HAIR conditioner- pick the smell you want

16 oz white vinegar

32 oz HOT water- not boiling(don't want to melt the jug) but pretty hot to mix/dissolve the conditioner.

Mix everything together and let sit over night! Ready to use the next day

Join me next week!!!! Have a happy week! 

Week 7

The weather still doesn't know what it wants to do. I'm hoping spring is coming soon. Getting very impatient for spring to get here. 

Adyson & Snowflake

Rella

FARM HAPPENINGS-

Tessa

We had exciting times on the farm this last week, it was time for everyone to get their wormer and bug treatments. It was fun mixing up solutions for the bug treatments, that was easy. Now getting the treatment sprayed/poured on animals, now thats a different story. The big girls (cows) did well. The goats, no way. Had to trap them in the stall and pray for the best. In the end I won, so I consider this a success! I only spilled 1 dose!!!!  This week I have been researching heavily on ORGANIC/NATURAL ways to treat my animals instead of using antibiotics and chemicals. Not having much luck. I know there HAS to be a way because I was reading the guidelines for USDA Organic and it said you can not give antibiotics, chemical treatments, etc to any animal. So how do farmers treat their animals for sickness, bugs (lice, fleas, ticks) etc? I don't know either.... Working on this. So if you have any information, send it my way PLEASE!


FAMILY TIME- This week Brittany helped me get the animals treated. We laughed, slipped in mud, got a dose of bug stuff on us. We have been relaxing together in the living room a lot this week. I made dinner 2 times this week and we have been eating left overs for the rest! that was kind of nice. 

HEALTHY EATING- I know these 2 recipes have "seasoning packets" in them. I'm looking for recipes to make my own taco, ranch and cream of soup mixes. I will be putting some of them to the test in the next couple weeks. 

Ranch Pork Chops

4 pork chops, ranch seasoning packet, cream of chicken soup, 1 can water) ~ 

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  You can easily double the recipe if needed. I made rice one night and noodles the next night to go with the gravy/sauce. 

Crockpot  Mexican Chicken

couple chicken breast, can of black beans, can of rotel, can of corn (or mexi--corn), 1 packet of taco seasoning, (YOU CAN add 1 hr before serving 1 -8oz cream cheese)
Cook on low 6-8 hrs. You can serve this over rice, tortilla chips, for tacos, burritos.

EXERCISE- gotten plenty of that this week. Mucking stalls, hay, chasing animals for treatments. Oh did I mention that I helped CHASE my neighbors cow through 2 pastures. This past week has been all about the animals finding holes in the fence. My neighbors dog got out. 
My goats got out once (crawled UNDER the fence in the creek bed, BUT all I did was shake a feed bucket and they came running back :) So fast walking, running has 

ORGANIZING- I found a trick in a book to organize all my cards. (I can't remember what book.) yes I know cards seem "old fashion" but I still send cards to many people throughout the year. I find them on sale after a holiday( valentines day, Easter, Christmas, etc) and save them until the next holiday. I used to put them all in a shoe box and dig for them when I needed them until now! I repurposed an accordion file. I labeled the tabs -address labels, envelope stickers, Birthday, thinking of you, sympathy, missing you, holiday,etc. So now they are all organized by category and protected from being bent/thrown in a box. I was also able to paper clip a set if stamps & clip 2 pens to the first tab so everything to write a card is in one place.

READING- lots of internet time. researching how to treat my animals naturally. Looking for ORGANIC ways to prevent/deter fleas, ticks, lice, etc. Since summer is coming. I have found Tee Tree oil is a GREAT oil to dilute in your shampoos and conditioners, lotions, soaps etc for skin problems and insect deterrent/repellent. Also Lavender oil. 
Also found great uses for olive oil. Olive oil is WONDERFUL for cooking and using as part of your beauty routine. 

CRAFTS- Adyson and I chose to make our Valentine cards this year. We took construction paper and folded it in 1/2. I cut out the heart shape. Then I took about 10 sheets of different colored tissue paper and folded them in 1/2 and cut a heart shape. I let Adyson glue the tissue hearts to the construction paper heart. She had a blast.

NO CHEMICALS- I found a "recipe" for homemade furniture polish. I was impressed with the POLISHING aspect BUT it doesn't CLEAN. So if you have any dried on spots from drink spills or food you will have to clean them up first BEFORE using polish. I HAVE NOT USED THIS ON RAW WOOD only furniture that has a clear coat/protected.  Best of all I love how my hands feel after using this polish, since its ALL NATURAL there was no need to wash my hands after using it. You can only make small batches of this because it will go bad (I haven't tried to refrigerate it, I made a small batch & used what I made), since I dust my house once a week I can take 30 seconds to make the polish as I need it. Best of all this is SAFE FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO BE AROUND.

Furniture Polish

2 tbl olive oil - (GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN TOO!)

1 tbl lemon juice (GOES BAD IF NOT REFRIGERATED)

small spray bottle- labeled (small 3 oz SPRAY bottle, found in the "travel" isle of the store)

Pour ingredients together in spray bottle. Put lid on and shake! For me a little went along way. Spray a little on a small space and TEST just to make sure it is safe for your furniture! Polish/buff with a clean dry cloth!

All of my furniture (coffee table, entertainment center, bookshelf, end tables passed) they all have a clear coat! I have NOT used this on my raw wood YET!

GARDENING- I have found that the Lavender plant has TONS of good things to provide us, insect repellent, wonderful smell/perfume to add to soaps, room deodorizers, etc. So I have decided to plant some from seed. Most say its a little difficult to grow from seed, so wish me luck! 
Going to make a "fertilizer tea" organic farmers use it instead of commercial stuff. Supposed to be really good for tomatoes, peppers and any other plants that need a little kick. When you do your own research about this process you will find MANY versions. This to ME is the simplest way to start getting into the "teas". 

Fertilizer Tea
a scoop/shovel of livestock poop (cow,horse (chicken poop use 1/2 scoop) & outside garbage can filled with water. Stir it up a little and let it steep for 3-5 days. Use to water your plants. 


My African Violets still have sent any shoots out yet. Its been 3 weeks.
My tomato, cucumber plants are about 6-8 inches tall!!! 
Green peppers are about 4 inches tall
kohlrabi is stumped. It hasn't done a lot in a couple weeks. 

Week 6

I'm trying to figure out if the weather knows what its doing. Cold & windy, tornadoes, rain now today its 55 outside, during the middle of February! I can't wait for spring. I am trying to wait patiently but I'm running out. 

I just realized that the last "update" Apple did screwed my phone up. It erased my icloud back up, erased all my notes, so far. Trying to restore from computer now. ughhhh So if this week's review gets a little weird you know why :) ok 11 minutes later & still no notes!!! Now on the phone with Apple tech, the update didn't "update" like it was supposed to. I have lost my all of my Notes!

Smoking- DONE! 

Family time- Has been going better this week. Eating meals together, chores together. Still need to come up with something fun for all of us to do. If anyone has any ideas put them in the comments! 

Organizing- Well Adyson's room is coming along. I got her involved in the process of her room. She wants it painted purple. She wants to get rid of all her babies & "junk" (she calls it) that go along with the babies. "I don't play with babies" is what she tells me. So this makes it easier to get stuff out of her room that she doesn't play with anymore. Her and I have this discussion all the time, if you don't play with it let's give it to someone who will. Adyson seems ok with this, she actually packed the garbage sack full with her babies & baby stuff, might I add she is very proud of herself!

Healthy eating- haven't bought anything junky from the store yet!!! still trying to eat up what we have here. I haven't bought a boxed dinner this year! (I did buy a few boxes of mac & cheese BUT I looking for a homemade recipe) I have found some great recipes on Pinterest ( I comment on the recipes I have tried).

Exercise- haven't done any yoga or stretching this week, BUT I have been active in the yard.  I have weeded/dead headed my strawberry plants, weeded the front walk way & made a compost pile this week! 

Reading- still reading lots of gardening books this week. I have ordered Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (turned into a movie, it just came out) from the library, waiting for it to come in.


Tips for Container Gardening from Fine Gardening- This was great for flowers, not too much info about vegetables

The New Self Sufficient Gardener by John Seymore- This book was GREAT! Great tips!

The Weekend Homesteader by Anna Hess- This gives you  month by month steps on how to prep everything. It was OK. A few tips and some good kid activities.

The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible by Edward C Smith- AWESOME book, I bought it! Explains in detail the soil types for your veggies, depth of pots, what plants you can grow together  and the plants you should keep separate!

Cleaning by Real Simple & Kathleen Squires - this didn't give me the information I was looking for. I thought this book would give me homemade cleaning solutions to the commercial brands. All this book gave me was a "schedule" (daily, weekly, monthly, annually) of what to clean in my house. 

Brain games- Haven't found anything new this week. Still having fun with the ones from last week. check them out here

STILL BLOGGING-

Positive thinking- its still a challenge to remain positive about everything BUT I am getting better. 

Craft- Adyson doesn't seem to want to help with Valentine cards. I think I need to show her the "finished" product, maybe she will want to help then!

Music- Only got in 30 mintues last week. I really need to buckle down and schedule myself music time everyday. 

No chemicals- I made my own DISH soap & LAUNDRY soap. It was not as bad to make as I thought. I did have to go and buy a 6 gallon pail/trash can. I have kept all my milk jugs, my soap did make 8 gallons & 3 laundry soap bottles. So approx 9.5 gallons & it cost me about $10!!! Cleans just as well as store bought. No perfumes. No dyes. 


 Adyson LOVED helping me stir everything. 

I had to buy Fels-Naptha soap, Borax and WASHING soda (not baking soda) I found all the items in the laundry isle of my grocery store. Then I used this video from YouTube for the PROCESS on how to make soap! 

For Dish soap I found Frugally Sustainable on You Tube,watch her make  dish soap
My ingredients were Kirks Castile Soap grated, WASHING soda, white vinegar & HOT water. VERY simple to make. Just remember- this IS NOT like store bought! It does not bubble much, and yes, it will make the water cloudy. . . Bubbles do Not make your dishes clean! The cloudy water shows there is soap in there-- Soap is what cleans, not bubbles.

Gardening- My African Violets haven't sprouted new shoots yet takes 4-6 weeks its only been 2 weeks. I planted a cut leaf in soil, and put a clear plastic bag over them to create a green house effect. The veggies I planted inside are doing great, my tomatoes are 4-5 inches tall. My cucumbers are 8-10 inches tall. I will have strong plants to plant this year! 

This year has been wonderful so far! I love being able to blog, and share my stories and adventures with you guys! 

Week 5

This week was pretty busy. The husband was home plus home a few extra days. It always throws me off when he is home extra days! I LOVE him being home, but all I want to do is spend time with him and the family so my stuff doesn't get done. So when he does go, I spend the next couple days playing catch up. 

Last Friday we lost the freezer. So I was busy emptying the big freezer and organizing the kitchen freezer. I am proud to say I only lost 2 loaves of bread and 3 bags of carrots and 4 boxes of waffles. I was able to save ALL the meat from the big freezer. So because I was busy last week I feel I didn't give you guys a very good weekly blog. So I am going to rewind to last Monday.

Monday (Jan 21st) we went out to the pasture to feed animals and found 2 new additions. Mama goat had kids! I got 1 nanny(black & white head) & 1 billy (solid white).  So since we were under a winter weather advisory I had to get my butt in gear & go get pine chips, extra feed and a heat lamp. I set them up in Luke's dog house with Mama so they could have some peace and be warm in the cold weather.  You can click on the links below to watch some FUNNY videos of the farm!




Kids playing in yard

Kids in the yard

Luke and the goats

Adyson catching goats

Luke LOVES watching the kids play in HIS house. It actually funny to watch the "big bad" Doberman looking so sad into his house knowing that the kids have taken over! haha


So all last week was dealing with the new babies and playing with them. Adyson tries so hard to catch the kids, but they are too fast for her.

Then the freezer went on Thursday night/Friday morning. So busy, busy, busy here on the Appleby Farm.

On to this week... Sunday  we got 2 calves. Can't wait until they get older. We are trying to be self sufficient/sustaining. So we are raising these girls for slaughter/milk. So I would like you to meet Hamburgerella & Steaktessa. They are about 4 months old.

Quitting smoking- still going strong! I love not being tied down my anything. Don't have to worry about stopping to get smokes for the night/weekend, etc. 

Family Time- it didn't work out this week like I thought it would. Everyone seemed a little selfish this week. I have been watching Super Nanny on TV, and I am noticing , I think that my family is addicted to technology, we all have a cellphone, laptop and 2 out of 4 of us have NOOKs. Going to brainstorm on some ideas.

Organizing- Adyson's room will hopefully be this month. Still looking up ideas. Loving the ideas & colors in these pictures. So hopefully I will be able to pull it off. Adyson has so many cars and little toys and books I need lots of shelves for bins and books.

Eating Healthy- I had a few slips this week. One night we ate hotdogs and mac & cheese. But I dont have too many more boxes left so gotta eat whats here! I have been making my own bread & rolls (with the help of my breadmaker!) Loving have FRESH bread, my house smells great, I know whats in my bread!

Exercise- Been getting plenty of that! HAHA moving hay, pine chips, cedar chips, water buckets, etc haven't done anything extra, very disappointed in myself. 

Reading- I have been reading LOTS of gardening, homesteading, self sufficiency books. Right now I am reading THE WEEKEND HOMESTEADER. So far this has been helpful little tips, tricks to working your own land. Teaches how every animal has a job on the farm if you let that animal do it. 

Brain games-I'm addicted to Logic Games, it's a free app in the App Store. It's kind of like Sudoku.Can't forget my favorite app Sudoku!! Oh did I mention my 4 yr old is addicted to Flow Free. It's helping her match colors and use her brain to figure out the path, without crossing over another path! 

STILL BLOGGING :)

Positive thinking- its a challenge EVERYDAY to stay positive. I have learned NOTHING good comes from negative thinking. No matter how bad the issue, there is always a positive in there somewhere. 

Craft- I feel terrible about not doing a craft this month, means I am 1 down. For February we are going to be making Valentine cards and sending them out! 

Music- hasnt worked out this week either, with the new additions to the farm, BUT I am going to schedule in some music time for later today.

NO CHEMICALS- so far I haven't purchased any chemicals. I have 1 bottle of laundry soap left and then I will be making my own! I can't wait. Making my own bread & rolls along with coffee creamer! 

Gardening- My African Violets seem to be doing well. No sign yet whether they will sprout or not yet. It takes 4-6 weeks, but I am hopeful.  The little green house I started has got nice strong plants. I transplanted all of them to bigger pots last Saturday. So they should be good until its time to plant them in the ground in April!

Adyson at story time


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