Thursday, April 26, 2012

King of the roost!

We live on a small farm and several years ago we decided to try keeping egg laying chickens. For us, this has been a very good and rewarding experience, (The only bad thing I will mention is I wish I had rocks instead of bark in my flower beds, if the chickens pick through it, it is flung everywhere!) Aside from the bark issue, the hens are very friendly, curious, sweet creatures that eat bugs and produce yummy eggs everyday. We currently have 6 hens that are laying and two pullets (young female chickens) we got this year that will begin to lay the end of this summer sometime. And we have the "King of the roost"! He is our rooster. We didn't get him on purpose, he was supposed to be a girl, but sometimes this happens! I have never wanted a rooster on my farm, probably cuz I am still scarred from "bad rooster experiences" from my childhood! I have had several backyard encounters with mean roosters who are territorial and chase you! So in trying to keep the farm experience a good one for my small children who like to gather eggs I have avoided the rooster. As you don't need a rooster to get hens to lay eggs, only if you want those eggs fertilized to make baby chicks. As you can see from the pictures of "King" he has been with us for a couple of years now, and I must say he is a gentleman. He has never given me a reason to get rid of him. The hens forage in our pastures at will and roost in their coop at night, they come and go as they please and seem quite content with their environment. This "free-range" environment makes their eggs superior to "store bought" as they have more omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin E, less cholesterol, less saturated fat, more vitamin D, more beta carotene, more vitamin A and I must agree, a better flavor. I never liked eggs as a child, I thought they had a funny taste. But I do like "our" eggs. As proof of the flavor difference I accidentally tested it this winter. You have to have a light on in the coop during cold weather to keep the chickens laying, well I didn't turn it on soon enough last winter, they stopped laying for a short time. It was just long enough for me to need to buy eggs at the store. Um, can you say sulphur taste, yuck!! That is the taste I remember as a kid and the reason I didn't like eggs. I don't know what makes the difference but I'm sticking to my home grown from now on! The reason for today's blog is a conversation my hubby had with a neighbor the other day. He also keeps egg laying chickens and my hubby also noticed he had a rooster and said "you accidentally got one too?" the friend said "no, I do it on purpose." Wondering why on earth, my husband inquired. The neighbor stated he had read somewhere that fertilized eggs have less cholesterol that unfertilized eggs. So hubby came home and told me this jewel of knowledge, I thought to myself, there is validation for keeping "King" right there. So I'm a curious person, I decided to research this matter on the internet. Darn if I could find any supporting information on this matter. I will have to ask my friend where he read this and see if there is any supportive scientific information. What I did find in my "chicken/egg research" is that it is not so much fertilized vs. unfertilized that makes the nutritional difference, as it is what you are feeding and how you take care of your hens that makes the eggs better for you. So at least that made me feel like I am doing everything I can to provide them with what they need to make us yummy nutritious eggs. As for now "King" has a home here on our little patch of heaven way out west. Bearing in mind he'd better keep those spurs he is sporting to himself!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Fashion Peeves

The other day I was surfing Pinterest for a minute and some comments caught my eye. It was someone's fashion pet peeve. I gathered that they didn't like it when people wear inexpensive clothing with expensive designer pieces. Got me thinking, I love to mix and match stuff, and that's part of my style! I admit I have worn a $10.00 Walmart dress with $400.00 cowboy boots. I love to wear a $5.00 clearance jacket with $200.00 Steve Madden boots. I love trendy, designer stuff, just can't afford to always have everything "designer" and I say what's wrong with mixing and matching as long as it looks good?! Some may not agree, and that's okay. One of the things I have learned about fashion is that everyone's style is a little different, and that is what makes it fun and interesting. So next time you see me and I'm wearing your fashion peeve please forgive me. I'm okay with what I'm wearing or I wouldn't have stepped out the door. So what's my fashion peeve you ask?Well I do have them too. For starters, Crocs I think of as garden shoes and Uggs I would slip on to go out and get wood off the porch, but neither would I wear out and about. Having said that, if you like them by all means wear them! Just cuz I don't like them doesn't mean you shouldn't!(Oh and if I do see you in them I am not judging you!) Today's blog is dedicated to loving yourself and your own style! Just because someone else doesn't like it... wear it anyway! There used to be so many rules about fashion, like not wearing white shoes after Labor Day and such, but now a days I think anything goes! So embrace your own personal style and learn to love the skin you're in or the clothes you chose!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Hello!!........Is anybody out there???........

Today as I was feeding lambs, spraying 2-4-D on the masses of dandelions I have in my lawn right now and cleaning my house, I was pondering what to blog about. Hmmm......it came to me! Is anyone out there? Is anyone reading this blog. Is anyone finding this blog helpful, inspiring or in any way amusing?  Got me wondering. If there is life out there, please leave some footprints so I know you visited. Tell me what you like about the blog. Tell me what you don't like about it if you want, but I must tell ya, this is me so if ya don't like it I'm sorry! I respect your opinion but gotta be me! The other thing I was thinking is keeping perspective on things. Keeping the "blogging time" to a balanced amount as to keep important things priority. (You know like feeding and loving your kids, keeping the family in clean clothes and such!) So this is one reason my blogs are short and sweet! Gotta get back to my life!! Anyway, if anyone is reading this blog, please say hello once in a while and thanks for stopping by! With love, Kacey

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Berry Dream Salad

You know those recipes that you should just print out little cards and place next to the dish at the pot luck table because you know you will be asked for the recipe about 100 times? I'm sure we all have them! I have a few, some of them I came up with and some are not mine I've just adopted them, and like good little children they make me happy!! I will share some of my favorite recipes on this blog, I went to a lovely missionary farewell today for a darling young man in my family.(For any of you who may not be familiar with this LDS tradition, here's a clue in; when someone is called to serve a full time mission for our church, they will be asked to speak to their congregation before they leave and then traditionally the family and friends of the missionary will meet for a delicious pot luck meal to celebrate.) So I attended a farewell today in which I brought a new creation and it seemed to be a hit so I decided to share it.

Berry Dream Salad:

8 Oz. Cream Cheese
12 Oz. Cool Whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg. frozen strawberries
1 pkg. frozen blueberries
1 pkg. frozen raspberries
1 cup smashed pretzel pieces, (I put pretzels in a big ziploc bag, close and whack 'em with a rolling pin. It's good stress relief too!)
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup white sugar

Beat room temp. cream cheese in mixer until smooth, add sweetened condensed milk until well blended and not chunky, add Cool Whip until smooth, add all berries to this white dreamy concoction. Then work on the pretzel topping. Add melted butter, sugar and smashed pretzels together and stir until incorporated then spread thin onto cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for about 7 min. Remove from oven and stir the pretzels until they separate and create "chunks". They will do this as they cool and you stir. Just before serving the dish add the pretzels to the top of the berry salad and enjoy! I prefer to put this salad into a 9x13 pan so you get the pretzels with each delicious spoonful! I haven't tried this but I'm sure it would be even better with fresh berries!! My momma makes a fruit salad using the pretzel chunks, same recipe for the chunks, will share that recipe sometime also. It's one that I have given out oodles of times!!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Fabric Corsage Video Tutorial

I have had a website for a while now where I sell things that I make. I have decided that there are lots of others out there like me who enjoy making things themselves. So to embrace the DIY movement I have decided to share some of the things I make on this blog. So if you are a DIY person feel free to use what you see here, just please credit if you will. If you are the type that just wants to buy what you see and forget making it yourself, feel free to visit the Fancy Ewe Wearables website at www.fancyewewearables.com to purchase. The first video tutorial I have done is for an accessory I created called the fabric corsage. It is basically a bracelet made out of fabric that looks beautiful with any special occasion attire, I recommend them for weddings, proms, give as a baptism gift, or I just like to wear mine to church! If you want to see how I made these please view the video tutorial below. (Here's the disclaimer: please forgive our first video experience, bless my husband's heart he did great at taping me while holding our 1 year old son, who you hear several times during the video.At the end the cute little guy had me totally distracted, but that's okay. Please realize I'm a wife and mom first so you will see/hear children probably more than you won't! Please forgive the water mark in the center and the fuzziness. We will learn from this and try to make it better next time! As you will learn I am a perfectionist, just a little! And things like this bug me!)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Passion for Fashion, wool anyone?

I love, love, love fashion, you could say I have a passion for fashion! ( I made a rhyme!) I love a beautiful retro style dress, the latest trend in blouses, or a pretty clutch, like the gorgeous Kate Spade I got to model on Studio 5 back in July thanks to Miss Ali Henrie! (I still dream of that darling clutch!) If you want to see this beautiful thing you can view it on Ali's blog, which is also fantastic, it's alihenrie.blogspot.com, it's under her Aug.2, 2011 blog. As I said I still dream of this clutch, it was the ultimate accessory! As I was pondering the memory of this lovely clutch I had a reality check to the accessories I wear most lately. Um...do lambs and milk bottles count?! It's spring and at my house that means baby lambs that have to be fed lots of times a day. So my pretties are hiding underneath brown covy's and rubber boots. Accessories consist of lambs, milk bottles and the occasional feeding tube around my neck. What can I say, I love fashion, of every kind!! (Even the farm girl get up!)

Thursday, April 5, 2012

New Easter Tradition!

My sweet momma was visiting this week. She is our official "activities person", and she is sooo good at it!! She always has fun things for the grandkids to do, especially at holidays. She made these really cute carrots out of candy. The orange part is a Starburst and the stems are green licorice rope. We decided that the Easter Bunny brings gifts just like Santa and we leave cookies out for him. So this year my kiddos are leaving candy carrots out for the Easter Bunny. Mom says to soften the Starbursts with heat first, either in the oven or microwave to make them easier to mold into a carrot.