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Motivation Monday: Brandcation…here I come! #GulfCoast #Brandcation

Posted by html404 on April 30, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Business, Monday Motivation, Travel

This week’s Motivation Monday post is to prepare to head to Brandcation in Pensacola, FL on Friday. I will be gone for the weekend. Looking forward to learning from some professional bloggers. I am especially interested in finding out how they have grown their blogs from part-time income to full-time income, as this is one of my goals for this year. I am also excited to see the ocean again. Having grown up on Atlantic coast I get a hankering for a trip to the ocean every summer, as it’s been 7 years since I saw it. It’s been 11 years since I have been to Florida, but I have never been to Pensacola. Doesn’t the photo of Portofino below look gorgeous? Definitely looking forward to the beautiful views!

I will be leaving my crew in the capable hands of my husband, who will have my girls to help him run the household while I am gone. I’d be lying if I said I don’t have qualms about heading off by myself. The mommy guilt over leaving my 20 month old, who happens to be still nursing as strong as an infant several times a day and thru the night. I look at him and I will miss him, his cuddles and smiles. I comfort myself with the fact that I will be barely gone 48 hours. My husband says he will be armed with chocolate milk to comfort our little guy while I am away. Chocolate milk is something my husband loves and that he will bring home and share (sometimes) with the little ones. More recently it’s been baby to prepare him for when I am gone.

Brandcation has been planned by 3-4 awesome ladies and so many sponsors that it is incredible! HotelCoupons.com is a major sponsor, as is Adventures Unlimited, Circle PR, Jambu Shoes, Stargazing, Portofino Condo, and Dunkin’Donuts. There are many other sponsors who sponsored other bloggers to attend or have provided lots of different samples and products for us to try. I will be mentioning them in upcoming posts. We will be having a PJ party on Friday to talk about all the amazing brands and see all the items that were sent especially to us for this event. A huge thank you goes out to each and every one of them for making this event possible! We are all in awe and so very grateful to be attending Brandcation 2012!

I am sure I will have many new stories to share upon my return, so stay tuned! 😉

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Puppy, Turkeys, Feed, Oh My!

Posted by html404 on April 28, 2012
in Animals, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff

Our Puppy

Meet Padfoot, our 8-week-old Newfoundland puppy. He’s smart and sweet (most of the time). We found him through Petfinder.com after a friend said to check there. I had expressed my concern to her that I doubted the Shelter would accept our pre-adopt – they had a three-page questionnaire and I wondered if they would even accept us after filling it out. That same night my friend sent us the Petfinder.com link, we looked on the site, found Padfoot – same price as a adopting from the shelter – emailed the owners because guess where they were located? Very near where I went to pick up the turkey feed! The owners emailed us back Wednesday morning, I called and we set up a time to meet at the feed supply store. That was God ordained, if anything was! Very thankful for how God leads. Truly amazing, that we got a puppy all because of a questionnaire, a friend’s help and no local organic turkey feed to be found.

Thanks to Padfoot’s previous owners he is potty trained and can “shake”. He is the perfect fit for us because he was raised on a farm around goats and chickens. His father is a Golden Retriever and his mother is a Newfoundland that his previous owners paid $1100 for! Yikes! We are trying to train Padfoot our property boundaries, to walk on a leash and not to nip/bite our fingers and clothing. He still naps a lot during the day and has been pretty good at staying on our patio even when we are not out there. My husband commented on that tonight and we are hoping that Padfoot is being trained to stay on the patio while we are inside…that might be wishful thinking though.

The children have been incredibly helpful with the puppy. They have taken the majority of responsibility of taking care of him. They came up with the idea of rotating who picks up dog poop, who walks him, who feeds him, who sleeps in the garage at night. We have been very impressed. The owners of the home we are renting gave us their dog house, but it is in the barn and we have to get it out, so the garage is Padfoot’s home at night time for now. We aren’t allowed inside pets and that’s ok with us.

And yes, those familiar with Harry Potter, the puppy is named after the character in the movie/books. We finally let our older girls watch/read the series. Surprisingly, they have learned a lot from it. Not wizardry or witchcraft either, contrary to what many Christians believe about the series.

Turkeys

We got a call from the Post Office at 6:30am on Friday saying our 15 turkeys had arrived. My husband had already left for work, thankfully only 20 minutes into his 50-60 minute drive. He came back and helped me finish up the box for the turkeys’ home, then he was off. One of the older girls and I finished up and everyone helped introduce the little guys (and gals) to water and their feed. Unfortunately one turkey was dead on arrival, but so far we’ve only lost the one.

Turkeys are really stupid. They walk over sleeping turkeys and they get stuck in their feeder. But our children love watching them and holding/petting them. They will make some tasty meals in the fall. 🙂

We have a pile of feed in our garage and had to pick up puppy food tonight, as the previous owner generously gave us 3-days worth.

Puppy, Turkeys, Feed, Oh My!

FAMILY TASK LIST MASTER (I found this by Googling “Chore Charts” or something like that. I just customized it with our family tasks.)

Contrary to my frazzled post early in the week bemoaning, “Puppy, Turkeys, Feed, Oh My!” my calm has returned. I have created a family task list so we can streamline tasks and everyone can see and check off what they have done. I still have to come up with a more thorough farm task list, but this is a start so everyone knows what needs to be done and who is to do it. We’ve kind of been just assigning things as we go along and I am hoping this will keep us organized and get everything done that needs to be done. The beauty of it all is that it isn’t just me doing all of this. Our whole family is involved and everyone down to the youngest, though our 2-year old is still not capable of doing much, he can fetch things, take things to the garbage etc. Things appropriate to his understanding and age.

We are excited and thankful for our start to farm life with critters.

All photos are mine. I was too lazy to watermark them! And in the words of my daughter, please do not steal them! If those that steal photos even read blog posts!

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Gifts from Boys

Posted by html404 on April 25, 2012
in Family Stuff, Gift Ideas

Gifts from boys. You never know what one of our boys will come up with, but this is the gift our oldest son chose for his big sister on her birthday a couple months ago. Pretty sweet gesture that melted her heart! I love it when children do stuff like this! It is a pretty frequent occurrence in our home, amazingly enough, but we still have lots of those other moments where they are still learning to love each other! After all where there are people there is conflict.

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Another Belated Monday Motivation – LONG – Sit down, have a tea with me and catch up on our news…

Posted by html404 on April 25, 2012
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Gardening

I didn’t get to a Monday Motivation post. I was making calls to feed stores, the hatchery and the post office. Our chicks and turkeys are being shipped out this weekend and I remembered we are down to one car and if my husband is at work how am I going to go pick them up at the post office? I really don’t want to find some of them dead because I couldn’t get there at the right time. Yeah, a slight dilemma to say the least. I am also having a hard time finding a local source of organic turkey feed. Talk about feeling crunched! I was told this one particular place had it a couple of weeks ago and then when I call to order on Monday I was told they didn’t have organic turkey starter. We don’t want to raise our animals on GMO feed (Genetically Modified Organisms). So I am a little freaked out right now at the thought of not having any feed for the turkeys!

Update on Feed Situation (since this was started on Tuesday AM!)

Our horse is not even mentioned in this post, but feed is!

My mind is so boggled right now. I usually pride myself on being organized, well, as much as I can be with 9 other people living with me. Oh sure I procrastinate about filing papers and crunching numbers at tax time because my files are such a mess; but I am a planner by nature and this all has taught me that I did not plan well enough.

Also, I am slightly kicking myself in the behind because I discovered that our turkeys actually arrive April 25-27 – could be today! This realization occurred late yesterday afternoon. We had absolutely nothing ready. Oh my husband had boxes. So, I had to make a run to Farm & Fleet to get shavings for bedding and packing tape to make their chick house, chick/turkey feeders and waterers. Forgot the heat lamps. These are all fairly inexpensive in the scope of things, so we knew we would get these at the last minute due to space issues for storing farm supplies, until we got the garage clean out more and boxes moved to basement storage.

Thanks to the help of farmers in my Growers Group I found a turkey starter source, but have to drive an hour and a half to Wisconsin to get it – today. Plus we have the other chicken feed, rabbit feed and organic soil arriving anytime of the day – today. The turkeys could arrive – today with a call from the Post Office- and I am feeling a little frazzled and am thinking, “What am I getting myself into?” Then I have to remind myself that I want to feed my family fresh, wholesome food without any of the chemicals and other junk they are putting into the food these days. Just think pink slime and you’ll understand why I want to get away from purchasing most things at grocery stores. Pretty radical, eh? I know and it’s a huge leap of faith too because we are beginning farmers and there’s always a huge learning curve. Plus, we want our children to experience animals, develop a good work ethic and a sense of responsibility at young ages so they grow up to be responsible adults. Our girls are well on their way, it’s our younger crew that needs the help! 😉 Ha!

Tiller

The other mishap was the fact that we never did get our old tiller serviced last fall. It leaks gas and won’t run properly. I had a place lined up, then I look for the email and couldn’t find it anywhere so POOF! I had deleted it in a delete happy party. I looked on the brands website and POOF it’s no longer listed there either.:-( We really need to get our poor little plants in the ground. So I called one place and they did not have any experience working on our brand of tiller and were…get this TWO weeks behind! Ugh. The other place we are familiar with are pricey, my husband fixed our ride on mower cheaper by doing it himself. He hasn’t taken the time to figure out the old tiller, but I know he could. So out of desperation for our plants I looked at new ones, but finally settled on a refurbished one with a nice little payment plan with no interest – bonus.

As as side note, I did look at used on Craigslist too, but didn’t find any of the brand that I wanted.

Another case of poor planning on my part. Can you say humbled beyond belief? Yep, that’s me. Part of it is poor planning, but also I just didn’t believe we would actually get to do all of this and now we are…and I have been…well…unprepared. Ever do that to yourself?

Animal Update

15 Midget White turkeys due to arrive any day now (they are a slow growing breed, most are for our family but I have 1-3 possibly sold thanks to Local Harvest)
40 baby chicks – all laying hens – 26 Buff Orpingtons, 8 Arcaunas, 6 Australorps and 1 specialty that we got free with our order due to arrive between Saturday and next Wednesday
2 bunnies – Java (brown rabbit) and Houdini (black & white and now my daughter wonders if she should have name it that in cases it disappears…) due to be picked up on Sunday
1 puppy – possibly a Newfoundland estimated date of arrival, unknown, but hoping to visit a breeder today

The owner of the bunnies sent us a couple of pictures:

Houdini

Java is the dark brown one in the back and Houdini is the B&W one facing to the right.

Oy! So here’s to my sanity and that I get through the next week unscathed! And I thought I’d just wet my feet with animals this summer….Ha!

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Peel Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds

Posted by html404 on April 24, 2012
in Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Gardening

Unbeknownst to me and perhaps to most of the world, last Thursday, April 19 was National Garlic Day and I came across this on Facebook via @Momversation…and she shared this video of how to peel garlic in less than 10 seconds. Pretty cool and fast!

Speaking of garlic…I need to order more for the fall…determined to get it planted this year!

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Body Bark and Comfort

Posted by html404 on April 23, 2012
in Clothing, Contests, Giveaways

I love comfy clothes. Unlike my oldest daughter, I usually go for comfort over fashion, that’s not to say that I do not like nice things, I do. I just happen to like them to be comfortable while looking good. My mother always said I had expensive taste, which I admit that I do, however, I am also very practical so usually practicality outweighs/out wins my taste. For that my husband and our bank account thank me. 😉

By now you are all wondering what that has to do with Body Bark and comfort and probably asking, “What is Body Bark? Get to the point already!” Ok, if you’ll stop shouting, I’ll oblige. Hee hee.

Body Bark

Nope, I am not going to recommend that you wrap your body in something but I am going to talk up a wonderful line of Body Bark clothing that is wonderfully comfy. Invented by moms, for moms, the Body Bark is a luxurious brand to make us feel good! This women’s clothing line may be worn alone, as underpinnings or a layer piece. It is the missing piece in your closet!

All of Body Barks products are made in the USA. Bonus!

Body Bark Tank

I received a Body Bark Tank in the color navy, size XL to review and it is one of the most comfortbable tops I have worn. It is very soft and fits to my generous curves. “95% MicroModal®, 5% Spandex. The secret to Body Bark’s luxurious feel is its natural-fiber fabric derived from beech wood. (Hence the name “Body Bark”) Made by Lenzing Fibers AG, the MicroModal® fiber used in Body Bark products is sustainable.”

I don’t usually wear tank tops so I tried wearing this to bed and loved it! It will be easy to wear this luxurious top beneath other clothing, but I haven’t personally tried it yet. Nor have I washed my top yet since I have just worn it to bed a couple of times. So I cannot tell you how it washes up.

It fits me great and falls a little past my hips because of my short stature, but is actually the length I prefer.

Prices are on the higher side, but when you think of the money saved by wearing Body Bark under other clothing, eliminating putting those clothes in the laundry pile and your dry cleaning bill will be lower when you wear a Body Bark piece beneath a dry clean only article of clothing. Added bonus, eh?

Mompact is offering a giveaway package, which includes one Body Bark product so be sure to enter if you want to try this luxurious top too!

Special Giveaway

This giveaway is sponsored by Mompact.com :

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“I received this review opportunity as part of Mompact.com. All opinions are my own.”

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$500 JC Penney Gift Card Giveaway

Posted by html404 on April 23, 2012
in Contests, Coupons, Gift Ideas, Giveaways

I don’t know what I get myself into sometimes but I have enough on my blogging plate to keep a couple people busy! Good thing my daughters know how to or are learning how to promote givewaways, enter giveaways or I’d really be up the creek without a paddle! 😉 This is another awesome giveaway if you are JC Penney fan. I love their towels! We have had them all our married life and I finally had to replace some of them a year ago. We still use the old ones, but I’d love to replace more of them. This next giveaway would be an awesome Mother’s Day gift idea for yourself, your mom or even your mother-in-law, so without further adieu….

Welcome to the $500 JC Penney Gift Card Giveaway, presented by CouponTrade.com and Moms with Voices Media !

CouponTrade.com is your new source for coupons that MATCH discounted gift cards! Sell your unwanted gift cards and name your price today!

One lucky winner will receive a $500 Gift Card to JC Penney! Just enter on the Rafflecopter form. Good Luck and have fun!!

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Earth Day 2012 Giveaway – $50 Gift Certificate to UncommonGoods!

Posted by html404 on April 20, 2012
in Contests, Eco Friendly Products, Education, Faith and Family Reviews Friday Giveaway, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Kids Toys

We love educational products and tools. UncommonGoods not only has educational toys, but also gifts for plant lovers, hummingbird feeders and unique home accessories. Many handmade and eco-friendly products all very different. Recently we were able to review two of their educational kits for kids – Cheesemaking and Crystal Explosion….And UncommonGoods is providing a $50 gift certificate for one happy winner of our Earth Day 2012 Giveaway! A great way to start off Earth Day weekend!

Cheesemaking Kit Review

We have always been interested in cheesemaking so this was a cool kit to do. My older girls actually did this one and we let the younger children do the Crystal kit.

The kit gives you a choice of making mozzarella cheese or ricotta cheese. We chose mozzarella since we eat more of it than ricotta. The instructions were very well laid out, easy to follow and included photos so you could actually see if your cheese was doing what they said it should at each step.

Everything you need is in the kit except for a gallon of organic milk and a pint of half and half. Those need to be purchased separately. Each little tablet shown has to be cut into quarters, so you can actually make 30 batches of cheese with this kit – bonus!

One of my daughters was worried that the cheese did not turn out, but once we tasted it was fine. We lightly salted it when we tried it and liked that better than plain.

This kit is for older children (teens) to do on their own or for younger children to assist a parent due to needing a heat source, like a stove or microwave. We really try to limit our microwave use.

The girls enjoyed their cheesemaking experience. Now we need our own cow so we can truly make our own cheese. 😉

You can purchase your own kit here($25).

Crystal Explosion Kit Review

Our children have been studying rocks and have been fascinated by what they are learning. The Crystal Explosion kit was very fun for the younger children.

The crystals (bath salts) were a bit messy but the enjoyment the children got from completing the crystal experiment far outweighed the small mess on the table!

Again, this was another kit that is very easy to use. Instructions are easy to follow. Due to hot water being required, some parental guidance and help is required.

It was fun to wake up to the crystals in the refrigerator. We still have them in there! Every now and then the children will bring me the cup and say, “Mommy, look at the crystals” because they are in awe. 😉 Very cute.

To order your own Crystal Explosion kit visit this link. It is available for $17.99.

Both of these kits are winners in our house and we give them two thumbs up. Thank you UncommonGoods!

Now you can enter our giveaway….

Earth Day 2012 Giveway – $50 Gift Certificate to UncommonGoods

Enter to win a $50 gift certificate to UncommonGoods! Open to the USA only. Winner will be contacted in 2-3 weeks, if not before.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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You know you are a farmer when….

Posted by html404 on April 18, 2012
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Gardening

You know you are a farmer when…….

you are excited to get a box of seed potatoes! 😉

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Cash Giveaway: Enter to Win $850 Cash!

Posted by html404 on April 17, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Contests, Giveaways

We all have bills to pay, many of us have children to feed, clothe and educate. To do all of these things what do we need? Yep, cash. The blogosphere offers many opportunities to enter giveaways, but since the beginning of the year I have been noticing a lot more cash giveaways.

Today I discovered a spring cash giveaway that has the grand prize of $850! Gotta love that, eh? One of the entry options is to create a blog post, so here I am. If you’d like to enter to win the Hello Spring Cash Giveaway, head over to Diva Fabulosa!