Give Away: Back Yard Food Production!

I found out about this DVD resource at Homestead Revival where Amy is offering a chance to actually win the thing! Can't believe it. This would be a wonderful resource and my husband, who just them morning was actually talking about raising our own chickens for egg production, would probably be receptive to learning about other ways we can provide for ourselves rather than relying on the grocery store aisles. Head over to Amy's place at Homestead Revival and check it out for yourself.

• An overview of how she began her journey and her homestead's situation in terms of climate and soil

• Watering solutions - sources, harvesting, and containment

• Gardening - how she raises enough to feed her family, and I mean all of it!

• Rabbits as a sustainable protein source

• Home butchering (rabbits are done in detail and then a couple of other small animals are addressed as well)

• Poultry as another sustainable protein source (more for eggs than meat, but she does discuss meat)

• Dogs as a working animal on your homestead

• Perennials: Orchards, Food Forests, and Edible Landscaping (Permaculture)

• Other Essentials: everything from solar food dehydration to hog panels!

It really was helpful having Marjory share what didn'twork for her, and I was encouraged by the fact that she didn't do this overnight. She's very clear that every homesteader should start small and learn from each step before jumping into something bigger. Honestly, I've wondered at times if being a sustainable homesteader was really possible in this day and age, but seeing what she's done on a small acreage with just a couple of hours each day to maintain what she's established has given me a renewed vision that it CAN happen.



During the video, Marjory will often reference a document that she's included on a separate CD for you to access. This is like getting a book of all the important, need-to-know information along with the DVD - primary sources! Some are from her state of Texas, but don't be mislead to think they won't help you. I spent some time going over the Texas Rainwater Harvesting document and it's an excellent 88 page resource for anyone, anywhere. It includes color pictures of examples along with detailed instructions for setting up your own system. All you'd need to do is find out your own state laws in order to be compliant locally.

Survival - Pioneer Living Survival

Survival - Pioneer Living Survival

OSV's Catholic Guide to the Internet — Readers' choice edition

OSV's Catholic Guide to the Internet — Readers' choice edition

Kids Bathroom Makeover—Installing Board and Batten

Don’t you love it? I looked for a shower curtain high and low and everywhere in between! I was beginning to think that the perfect shower curtain just didn’t exist. And then I found this baby. (And just as a side note—it was $21.99 but it came with a small flaw in the fabric and so I called them and they knocked $10 off the price—so I only paid $11.99 for my PERFECT shower curtain!!—and you can’t even see the flaw—can you?)

Then we decided to add some fun and interest to the walls of the bathroom. I had found these instructions from one of my favorite blogs (320 Sycamore) for an inexpensive way to do board and batten and knew this would be perfect for this room.

So we purchased a bundle of inexpensive Lath pieces from Home Depot. My hubby sanded them down and we installed them about 10” apart.

Next we added a 1 x 4 piece of primed MDF for the top.

Then my hubby filled all the holes and sanded them all down.

Next it was up to me to caulk all the edges and paint it up. This was the time consuming part. But I think it turned out awesome!

Next we added some handy little towel hooks and put up my FAVORITE bathroom art: pictures of MY BABIES.

"

Mama and Baby Love: Freezer Cooking with Slow Cooker Recipes

This is what they look like, yummy, click on title to read the her post and get her recipes.  I found this via a link on Pinterest.  She said she felt like she invented electricity when she discovered how to do this.  I am so glad she "discovered electricity" because I will be using this technique.

Clothing inventory

To really save money...shop out of season. Summer clothes are going on sale now. During my inventory, I noticed my husbands short sleeve polo shirts were starting to look worn. So I went shopping and found a great deal at a Hamricks store.

They had men's polo collared shirts for $5.98 each! The shirts are 60/40 poly cotton, preshrunk, and I purchased 5 of them for him to wear to work.

Here is a great tip for setting the color in shirts and really keeps them from fading.

Before washing place the shirt in a bowl of white vinegar and let soak for an hour. Ring out vinegar and then wash in cold water.

The vinegar sets the color in the fabric. I do this for all my new colored clothing.

5 Exercises for Everyday

e 5-Minute Fitness Secret

By: Adam Campbell, M.S., C.S.C.S. 

Want a fat-burning workout that fits your life? Then check out this routine that uses moves from The Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises. You can do it almost anywhere, and you can do it fast—yet you’ll be amazed at how quickly it gets your heart-pumping. All you need is just one pair of light dumbbells—5 or 10 pounders!—to target every part of your body while burning tons of calories. So you’ll never have to leave your house or even use a treadmill.

The best part: You can tailor the routine to fit your schedule. Because one circuit takes exactly five minutes, you can give yourself a fat-burning boost any day, any time. For example, say you have only 10 minutes on Monday. Go ahead and just do two circuits. On Wednesday and Friday, maybe you have 20 minutes—enough time for four circuits. But maybe you find yourself with the time and energy for a 10 or 15-minute workout on Saturday or Sunday. Jump to it! Just think of each circuit as a five-minute fat-burner. Use that strategy to shape your body whenever you get the opportunity.

Make this your best year yet with this body-transforming workout!

Directions: The workout is simple: There are 5 exercises. We’ll consider each a “station.” Go to each station for 60 seconds. Do the exercise for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds. Repeat this process—moving to a new exercise at the top of every minute—until you’ve completed all five exercises. That’s one circuit. Catch your breath, then repeat the entire circuit. Try do four to five circuits (very challenging!), three days a week, for a super-fast, fat-blasting plan. But remember, you can customize the plan to fit your schedule if needed. So if the three-day-a-week approach doesn’t work for you, simply try to do a total of 12 to 15 circuits a week—working them in when you can.

One note: This workout is made for light weights. How light? You should feel challenged by each exercise. Read: You’ll be breathing hard and feeling it in the targeted area. If 5 or 10-pound weights are too easy, use the trial-and-error method to determine the weight that’s right for you.

Beginners: You may need to start out a little easier. Simply do each exercise for 15 seconds, and rest for 45 seconds. Do two to three circuits. As you become more comfortable, increase the time you perform each exercise and the number of circuits you do.

Fitness buffs: If you want to make the routine harder, just increase the amount of the 60-second station that you spend working, and decrease the amount that you rest. So you might do each exercise for 45 seconds and rest for just 15 seconds.

For even more novel fat-burning moves, check out The Best New Exercises for Women.

Bonus: Get outside with these backyard workout ideas!

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

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Dumbbell Lunge and Rotation

Step 1

Step 2

1. Grab a dumbbell and hold it by the ends, just below your chin. 
2. Step forward into a lunge. As you lunge, rotate your upper body toward the same side as the leg you're using to step forward.

Total body toning workout

• This move has been excerpted from The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell.

This move works:
Biceps, Calves, Core, Obliques, Quadriceps

Photo Credit: Beth Bischoff

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Mountain Climber

Step 1

Step 2

1. Assume a pushup position with your arms completely straight.
2. Lift your right foot off the floor and slowly raise your knee as close to your chest as you can. Touch the floor with your right foot. Return to the starting position. Repeat with your left leg. Alternate back and forth for 30 seconds.

Build a Better Booty

• This move has been excerpted from The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell.

This move works:
Abs, Chest, Core, Hamstrings, Hips, Lower Back, Obliques, Quadriceps, Shoulders, Upper Back

Photo Credit: Beth Bischoff

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Dumbbell Push Press

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

1. Hold a pair of dumbbells next to your shoulders with your elbows bent.
2. Dip your knees. 
3. Explosively push up with your legs as you press the dumbbells over your head.

The perfect pushup

• This move has been excerpted from The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell.

This move works:
Shoulders, Triceps

Photo Credit:

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Dumbbell Row

Step 1

Step 2

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells, bend at your hips and knees, and lower your torso until it's almost parallel to the floor. Let the dumbbells hang at arm's length from your shoulders, your palms facing behind you.
2. Bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells to the sides of your torso. Pause, then slowly lower the dumbbells.

Flat ab-pilates workout

• This move has been excerpted from The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell.

This move works:
Upper Back

Photo Credit: Beth Bischoff

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Squat Thrusts

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides.
2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body as deep as you can into a squat.
3. Kick your legs backward, so that you're now in a pushup position.
4. Then quickly bring your legs back to the squat position. 
5. Stand up quickly and repeat the entire movement.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when your kid is sick (episode II)

It's amazing what you can accomplish when your kid is sick (episode II): "After spending $2 a jar for pizza sauce that wasn't even that great, nor was it organic, I realized that making my own might be a better way to go...



And then I realized how easy and cheap it was to make and I want to kick myself for buying those stupid jars for so long.



Now I make a huge batch of this every few months and always have it on hand.



Pizza Sauce

5 cans of organic tomato paste (Costco carries 12 packs for under $5)

1/4 cup of raw honey

A bunch of minced garlic

Dried basil, oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and rosemary to taste

Water





Mix the tomato paste, honey, garlic, and spices. Slowly add water and stir until it reaches your desired consistency. Let the bowl sit on the counter for 30-60 minutes until the flavors have had a chance to mellow and meld.

And just so we're 'keeping it real', this is what the rest of my dining room table looked like while taking the 1st photo.

Freeze in 1 cup portions.

"

Me Sew Crazy: Pattern Remix Guest: Ashley from the Handmade Home

Me Sew Crazy: Pattern Remix Guest: Ashley from the Handmade Home

Dittle Dattle: Stained Stairwell

We have had our spindles painted for two years now, but have not yet darkened up the top rail nor the handrail. Carrie from Dittle Dattle has done just that and it looks great. This is a project I need to put on the list so I can get it done.

How to Make Salad in a Jar

How to Make Salad in a Jar

A Turtle's Life for Me: Freezer Meals on the Cheap

Brilliant tutorial on freezer cooking that will work for me big time. Thank you!

Watching Over the Heart and Home: Homemade Vinegar Success!

Who knew you could make your own vinegar? The things I learn on the internet. Visit Patti at Watching Over the Heart and Home for the full tutorial. Thanks Patti!

Dear Lissy: Finish the Job, Finish the Job, Get It DONE!

Lissy's mom has written an excellent post on the three P's of getting a job done: Prepare, Perform and Put Away. Head over to her site for the entire article.

What we buy

Heinz ketchup
KC Masterpiece
Old el Paso enchilada sauce
Diet rite
Velveta loaf
Jello cook n serve pudding
Citracel calcium
Kelloggs raisin bran
Campbells chicken noodle soup
Mrs. Pauls frozen fish fillets (green box)
NOW Multi Vitamin

WFMW: What’s App — We are THAT Family

Comments section has lots of apps to consider getting.

what if this is as good as it gets?: just finished reading...

Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

Learning About Freezing Food

What to Refreeze

Foods that have defrosted have no remaining ice crystals. If defrosted foods have warmed above refrigerator temperature (40 F) they should not be refrozen, except for very high acid foods, such as fruits.

Many thawed foods, i.e. those still containing many ice crystals or a firm-to-hard core of ice in the center, may be safely refrozen.

Any signs of spoilage, off-odors or color in any food indicate you should dispose of the food without tasting.

Remember, however, that you can't rely on appearance and odor. Some foods may look and smell fine, but if they've been at room temperature too long, food poisoning bacteria may have multiplied enough to cause illness.

Meats, such as beef, pork, veal, lamb and poultry can be refrozen when they are still firm with ice crystals. Meat still safe to eat can be cooked and refrozen. Discard meats if they have any signs of spoilage such as an off-color or off-odor.

Fruits usually ferment when they start to spoil, which will not make them dangerous to eat but will spoil the flavor. Defrosted fruits that smell and taste good can be refrozen.

Vegetables should be refrozen only if they contain plenty of ice crystals.

Shellfish, prepared foods or leftovers should not be refrozen if defrosted. If the condition of the food is poor or even questionable, get rid of it. It may be dangerous.

Never refreeze melted ice cream, cream pies, eclairs or similar foods.

Unfrosted cakes, uncooked fruit pies, breads and rolls can be refrozen.

The investment in the foods in the freezer may be significant, but so are the benefits of serving safe foods.

Foods That Do Not Freeze Well

FLAVOR CHANGE

• Pepper, cloves, imitation vanilla, garlic (especially uncooked), sage and celery seasonings may become strong and/or bitter.
• Curry may develop a musty off-flavor.
• Onion changes flavor during freezing.
• Salt loses flavor and has the tendency to increase rancidity of any item containing fat.
• Add artificial sweeteners and salt substitutes at serving time to be on the safe side.

TEXTURE CHANGE

• Cooked egg whites become tough and rubbery.
• Soft meringues toughen and shrink.
• Mayonnaise and cooked egg or cream-based salad dressings seperate when frozen alone.
• Milk sauces or wheat-flour thickened gravies may separate or curdle.
• Half-and-half, sour cream and cottage cheese separate and may become grainy and watery when frozen alone. Buttermilk and yogurt react similarly, but can be used for baking.
• Custard or cream fillings tend to separate and become lumpy and watery.
• Boiled or fluffy frostings made with egg whites become sticky and weep.
• Cooked pasta products lose texture and tend to taste rewarmed when frozen alone.
• Most gelatin dishes tend to weep when thawed.
• Cheese or crumb toppings become soggy.
• Fried foods, except french-fried potatoes and onion rings, lose crispness and become soggy.
• Lettuce, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, parsley, radishes and similar high-water-content vegetables become limp and watery.
• Potatoes might darken and have a texture change when included in frozen soups and stews. New potatoes freeze better than older ones.
• Canned hams can become tough and watery.
• Stuffed poultry cannot be safely frozen.

Training Teens in Biblical Sexuality

By Jennifer Matlock - to read the entire article, click on the title!!!


Part One: The What and The Why


Let me be the first to say that I am not, by any means, an expert on the subject of training teens in Biblical sexuality. My oldest child is only 14, and there are at least three more behind him. We’ll see in about 15 years whether the seeds I’m trying to plant end up bearing the kind of fruit I’m hoping for. But I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts and plans for helping my kids navigate the rough road of adolescence, particularly the sex part.

When it comes to teaching our kids about sexuality, we would be hard-pressed to find a topic more difficult or embarrassing to discuss. Parents are led to believe that talking to kids about sex is difficult, awkward and unrewarding. We get conflicting messages about when to do it, what to say, how to say it and why. Then, we’re told that even if we do talk to them about it, the choices they make are not going to be based on what we’ve said, but what they see on TV and hear from peers. And ultimately, all those choices are beyond our control anyway, so why even bother?

The What – Sexual Purity
I want more for my children than just being able to claim that they’re a virgin when they marry. That in itself is a higher standard than a huge majority of parents hold their kids to. It also tends to be the general standard of the church. The typical stand on sexuality from the church is “don’t have sex until you’re married…oh, and don’t date non-Christians.” The great majority of churches never go beyond those vague rules

In today’s sex-saturated culture, getting to your wedding day as a virgin is not only difficult, it’s exceptionally rare. The reality of our morally ambiguous world doesn’t allow for JUST a “Don’t-have-sex- before- marriage” worldview. If this is the only standard we ask kids to aim for, they’ll end up teetering on the edge of a cliff, one slip away from the thin line that separates actual sexual intercourse and all other sexual activity. Many teens (and even pre-teens) today are even turning to activities like oral sex, anal sex and mutual masturbation to avoid ‘losing their virginity’.

I want more for my children than that. GOD wants more for them than that. As Christians, we’re called to live a set-apart life – not just sexually, but in every aspect of our lives. When it comes to relationships and sexuality, a set-apart life includes sexual purity.

God knows our hearts. When He said that “among you, there should not be a hint of sexual immorality” He didn’t mean to make sure that on your wedding day you need to be able to pass the ‘by the book’ virginity test. He is asking us to remain sexually pure and save our whole sexual self for marriage, only marriage and nothing but marriage.

There is a huge difference between ‘technically a virgin’ on and ‘sexually pure’. My hope is that I can teach this to my children in a way that they not only learn it, but they internalize it and claim it for themselves.

It’s going to be a battle. Today, kids are growing up in an era where hookups, sexting, booty calls and ‘friends with benefits’ are all seen as normal among teenagers. Those who admit they want to be a virgin when they get married are considered to be freaks. Someone who aims for more than that – for sexual purity – is laughed at and mocked.

The Why (train children for sexual purity)?

What’s the big deal? Isn’t that whole ‘purity’ thing outdated and archaic? No, it’s Biblical.

People try to push that aside saying, that stuff in the Bible only really applied to Bible times. No, God’s word is living, breathing and ALWAYS relevant. We live in an utterly perverted, completely corrupted culture. It’s a culture of hook-up, shack-up, break-up. It’s a culture of self-worship. In fact, we justify not quite following God’s commands by doing the exact thing that got humankind into sin in the first place. We look at His laws and say “Did God really say…” just as the serpent said to Eve.

The problem is that all too often, we look at the boundaries that God gives us and see them as obstacles instead of protection. Many people say “God just wants me to be miserable” or “He doesn’t want us to have any fun.” The truth is, when God says “Don’t…” what He’s really telling us is, “Don’t hurt yourself.” Biblical principles are in place to guide us to a life of fulfillment and joy.

Our response comes down to a very direct challenge: “Do we believe?” Do we believe that the God who created us really knows what’s best for us? Does He understand the desires we have? Can we trust that He knows us better than we know ourselves, and – more importantly – is better at providing for us that we are?

Surprisingly, training teens for sexual purity is a lot more about answering those questions than having the ‘awkward conversation’ or running through the unbelievably short and vague list of dating rules for the Christian teen. We have to train our children to understand God’s character and their relationship to Him if we want them to take sexual purity seriously.


To see the rest of the article, click on the title - great job Jennifer.