They're here....and super cute!

I didn't think I would find these little guys so darn cute! All six came home Friday evening chirping away in a ventilated box.  I predicted my reaction would be something like, "Eh- when will my eggs be ready?" Nope- I was truly taken back by how stinkin' cute they are.  So here is the first photo of the newbies!



How did my sweet little girl react to them?  Well, at first she stepped away...seemed to be a little bit nervous.  Within minutes, that all changed and I have made numerous extra trips to the basement so she can check on the chickens.  Last night, I had to bring her back downstairs at bed time so she could say "Good night chickens."  Here is a quick video of her getting to know her chickens yesterday:

 

This morning, at the lovely hour of sometime before six, she was already awake and "chickens" was one of her first words.  Here she is going downstairs first thing to say "Good morning chickens."

So far they are a hit.  I know that none of the real work has started yet, but we'll keep you posted as we learn! Have a wonderful weekend!

And 6 More Makes.....11!

So I left off months ago and affirmatively established myself as the world's worst blogger....Well, truth be told I have been doing some blogging over at triblogs, which is where I try to keep some focus to my adventures in triathlon and fitness.  I have been debating about merging these two blogs for a few reasons.  First, I clearly do not keep up well on these two ventures that I have going outside of family and work.  Second, isn't fitness also part of this whole quest for simple, healthy living? Why keep it separate? I welcome any thoughts or suggestions for a makeover....

"And 6 More Makes....11!"  What on earth am I talking about? Well, my Happy New Year post referred to us thinking about getting chickens.  The thinking is apparently coming to an end because the little guys are arriving tomorrow....all six of them! Excited? Yes.  Nervous? Yes.  A little overwhelmed? Glad you asked....YES!  I know that these little guys will be part of the clan once we are in the swing of things.  I also know that there are many, many people out there with backyard chickens and have lists of positive things to say about the experience.  I also know that I love the idea of fresh eggs for the thousands of things that I want to bake.  Lastly, I love the idea of my little girl growing up with animals.  It just so happens that I do not know too much about chickens right now.  I have been reading...my husband went to a chicken seminar...we have notes of all the things we need to do when these darlings arrive tomorrow.  I just don't know how the time commitment will feel....Mom, Dad, Toddler, Dog, Cat and Chickens #1-6. Phew. Good thing we're morning people I guess...

The new additions will be living in our cellar under a heat lamp for a while until they're old and strong enough to venture outside to our coop, which is still in the design phase.  We have a few weeks before we even have to worry about that part thankfully.  So, hopefully I will be reporting back soon with some shots of these little babies! Wish us luck....or call us crazy! Your call.

Happy New Year!

With a new year upon us, I'm thinking about the successes and bumps in the road of 2010 in an effort to focus on what I want out of 2011.  I'm learning that I'm happiest when I eat right, stay active, rest up, use less, contribute more and laugh often.  And guess what- a happier mom does make for a happier family.  So, let's list some specifics that kept us on track to how we want to live.

Things that worked....

1. Starting a garden- nothing better than picking your own veggies and herbs for your family's next meal
2. Rain Barrels- I never realized just how MUCH water one down pour creates and can be collected for the garden
3. Organizing and planning meals for the week and/or month ahead of time- I kick myself anytime life gets crazy and I divert from doing this- costs go up, quality of food and nutrition goes down and then I generally feel like junk until I get back on the wagon.  That old saying is true: "You are what you eat."
4. Composting- we organized a pretty large compost pile and it's amazing how much compost we actually generate between grass clippings, leaves and produce waste.  I received a gift of a counter top composter for my birthday this year and I think this will be key to keeping up with composting over the winter.
5. Turning the TV Off- many nights I have found myself mindlessly channel surfing....and nothing is on.  For some reason, I keep changing the channel with the false thought that something exciting must have started in the few seconds since I last flipped through.  Then one night I asked myself this question: "Is this worth me being tired tomorrow morning?" Nope.  Off it goes....read a book....get to bed earlier....maybe even conserve some electricity.
6. Helping Out- I only volunteered at one event around Thanksgiving this year, but it reminded me that making a contribution of time to help out every now and then builds communities, feels good and helps me focus on what's really important.  Yes, life gets busy.  Volunteering every day, every week or even every month might not be an option, but I can and should make the effort to make it a part of our life.
7. Revisiting the list of "Things that Worked!"  Distractions come up from time to time and we stray.  Taking time to refocus helps with this.

Some things that I tried but they are still a work in progress:

1. Getting rid of paper towels- I tried, I really did.  I stopped buying them cold turkey and announced to the household that reusable, washable cloths were just as effective and can be thrown in the laundry every week to be used again and again.  I looked my hubby in the eye and said "We won't even miss them."  They have since crept back into our house.  2 pets, 3 people....the paper towel holder is back...on the counter.  I need help with this one people!  If you have a system that works, let me know!
2. No Cleaning Chemicals- I experimented with different cleaning solutions using things like baking soda, lemons and vinegar.  I steamed my carpets without the cleaning solutions and just relied on the old fashioned, hot steam.  Often, these things worked. Every now and then there was a mess where I confess that I took the easy way out and cleaned up quick: chemicals and all.  This one requires more research...and organization!

Where are we headed for 2011?

1. A bigger garden! We couldn't get enough of it this year....we learned from some of our mistakes and we happily ate all of our successes.  We're already looking at seeds...we need to look at some organic pesticides....and we need to work on the timing of our planting this year.
2. We're thinking about chickens...maybe.  I'll have to keep you posted on this one.  I love the idea of fresh eggs and the idea of the little one learning by having animals to care for.  We just need to be sure that we have the time to keep up with the commitment before we add more animals to the clan.  I would love to hear from anyone that has chickens or knows about caring for them.

As we wrap up this new year's weekend and get back to the grind, I wish you all a wonderful new year!  Stay healthy!

Scary Food Advertisement....

I'm a bad blogger....I know.  Time gets away from me.  That said, I ran into a weekly circular for a local grocery store that frightened me so much that I had to make the time to post this one.  I'm not getting into what store, what circular etc.  The content alone is horrifying. So, here's my take on it:

I flip through the local grocery store circulars every week.  I actually look forward to it.  It's a little quiet time when I plan out the meals and try to make the healthiest grocery list possible and stick to a budget.  Smack on the front of one of the fliers is an advertisement for a sale on sea scallops- this has my attention.  Seafood? Yummmy.  Before my mind even has the chance to contemplate the bottle of chardonnay that will be scrumptious with our scallops dinner, I see bold font next to it that reads, and I kid you not, "Chemical Free."  WHAT??????? Are you serious that "Chemical Free" is a bonus, selling point of food in our grocery stores?  Has food processing and preparation seriously come to the point that if our food doesn't say "Chemical Free" then we need to assume it has chemicals?  Never mind the fact that this particular item isn't even a processed food item...it's shellfish.  It was a live, living, breathing form of sea creature...and I should be jumping for joy because not only is it on sale, but it's also chemical free.  Well, hip hip hooray.

Just a reminder about how scary our food can be and how unfair it is to our families and children.  Just a thought.

Our Own Ground Flour

A quick reflection of this past year: it was busy. We became parents. We were both working full time (thankfully), and my husband was working on finishing his degree online...full time. I loved our conversations about making healthier choices, growing our own food and being more environmentally conscious, but I honestly wasn't prepared for a particular idea brought up by my husband.

So here it is: one random day, he's all excited about a new idea. He wants to order a bulk shipment of grain and start grinding our own flour. He already priced out the grain and a manual, hand crank grinder and was ready to go. The electric grinder was too much money to fork out for an idea that we were just starting and didn't even know if we loved it or not yet. I didn't think he was serious....and I laughed. He was understandably offended at my reaction. My perspective on this idea at the time was that we were clearly already feeling time constraints between work schedules, school demands on him, child care and not enough sleep. I thought that there were many smaller steps we could take on our quest for some healthier, earth conscious decisions that wouldn't be quite as time consuming. I mean, we weren't even making our own bread yet...never mind grinding our own flour.

I realized I was being inappropriately unsupportive and we went for it. A giant barrel of grain came to the house (oh god, the UPS guy thinks we're nuts)....followed by the grinder. My husband started grinding flour immediately. I was still skeptical. I was proven wrong and yes, I have here and now put it in writing. So, let me tell you the reasons this freshly ground flour is awesome:

1. It smells fresh! This might sound crazy but I stuck my nose in the bag of whole wheat flour I bought at the grocery store and then stuck my nose in the canister of freshly ground flour and there is a significant difference!
2. It’s amazing for baking. When using store bought whole wheat flour, I have found that I have to combine the recipe with white and whole wheat flour to avoid dry, hard baked goods. Not so with this flour! Whole wheat all the way baby!
3. Minimal processing. This stuff goes from grain to flour to baking- all in our kitchen. 

Eventually, I think we will look into an electric grinder now that we know the idea is a hit....and I was wrong. The manual grinder can be time consuming. In the mean time, maybe I’ll get some super toned arms and shoulders from this grinding :) .

 

And for those of you pizza lovers out there (I could not live without pizza!), here is my bread machine whole wheat pizza dough recipe that I have tweaked to work with our flour:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast

Place all ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed, set on the dough cycle and there you have it!  When it comes time to top and bake your pizza, set the oven to 400 degrees and wait just 18-20 minutes for pizza bliss!

On Organization....Or Lack of it....

Local Triathlete Caught at Drive-Thru

True Story.  Well, mostly true.  In a quest for a healthy life, activity has to be part of the equation.  In my case, I have been lucky to find a sport that I love: triathlon.

So, onto my story.  It was about 9:30 pm on a Tuesday night and I was just driving home from work...we had a special event in the evening that extended my work day by about 4 hours.  I'm driving home and I'm hungry! I haven't had dinner yet, I'm tired and I realize that I left absolutely nothing out to defrost for when I got home...not that I was much in the mood to cook anyway.  What's a tired, hungry girl to do?  Well, I saw the golden arches.  My husband happened to be on his way home too.  I called him on the cell....and made him go through the drive thru to get me dinner.  So, no I didn't get caught at the drive thru but that's only because I made my husband do the dirty work.  Here I am talking about minimizing processed food consumption...as I lick the sweet and sour sauce of that last french fry. 

I want to be clear here- I firmly believe that life is too short to not indulge from time to time; however, I think there is a big difference between making a planned, proactive decision to enjoy a food that you truly think tastes great versus a tired, stressed reaction to just fill the hole in your stomach.  On that Tuesday night, I was totally reacting and it got me thinking.

Eating healthy requires organization.  When I'm on my game, it's great.  Food is planned.  Meals are ready to go.  Healthy snacks are within reach.  Unfortunately, every now and then there are those weeks where life takes over and the organization slips....you get tired....cranky....you missed grocery night....you forgot to leave that chicken out to defrost.  These days, people are leaving their houses early in the mornings and returning late in the evenings to a pile of chores to help get the family ready for the next day.  I firmly believe that proper fuel and nutrition are essential to keep the pace! So, when I am on my game, these are some of the things that have worked great for me. 

1) Frozen veggies- during my trips to Trader Joes, I stock up on frozen, organic veggies.  I throw them in the freezer and don't have to worry about them going off or being wasted.  They are like "on-call" nutrition, ready to go whenever you need them.  They have been particularly helpful for baby food over the last year. 

2) The whole chicken- Purchase an organic, free-range chicken for roasting.  I find that the chicken gives me healthy meals for 2-3 nights.  The first evening, we have roast chicken, potatoes and veggies.  For the next 1-2 evenings, there are a lot of different options such as healthy chicken soft tacos, stir fry curry chicken with brown rice and veggies and don't forget about sandwiches!

3) Bake a healthy dessert once a week-  if you are like me, you have a vicious sweet tooth.  There is nothing worse than a sweet tooth and not being prepared to handle it when it acts up!  Life is too short to not eat dessert.  When you have some time at the weekend, whip up a batch of healthy, protein packed brownies or chocolate chip cookies.  Keep them in the fridge and you will have portion controlled, sweet bliss at your fingertips for when that sweet tooth acts up...instead of running to the convenience store for a pint of ice cream.

4) Have a "No-Cook" night once a week- it seems that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves and we need to give ourselves a break sometimes.  So, once per week don't cook!  This could be an evening where you order in.  It could be an evening where you enjoy food such as salads, sandwiches or even sushi from the local market. 

My goal is to stay on my game as much as possible.  It's important for me and my family.  There will definitely be more on this issue to come....and I would LOVE to hear any ideas you have.  Got a recipe? Time saving tip? Let's hear it so we can make the healthiest food possible for our families!

Holy Water!

No, I didn't go to church (is my mother reading this? Argh- I think she has me figured out by now anyway).  In our efforts to build our garden of fresh, organic produce, hubby and I ran into a discussion about water.  Gardens need it.  Depending upon the weather, they could need a lot of it.  Our water supply comes from a private well.  In my recent internet surf sessions about eco-friendly practices, water conservation is frequently a topic that comes up.  It seems that we often take our "unlimited" safe, clean, water supply for granted.  So, we started talking.  There was talk about drip hoses, irrigation systems and just regular "get your butt out to the garden with a watering can" type talk as we (mostly hubby) decided how we would keep this garden hydrated.  The thought of turning on the faucet to our outdoor hose and just leaving it on for extended periods of time, running our well, made me nervous....until hubby came up with the solution: rain barrels.  I had heard of them....I saw them online, but I didn't know if they would truly be effective.  Today, I am here to tell you that effective they are!

First, hubby scored some 55 gallon barrels off of someone on Craig's List.  I liked this idea because it was giving new life to a used product that may have otherwise been thrown away.  He painted them to match our house (I know- the paint may not have been environmentally friendly, but as I said, we are a work in progress).  He installed spigots, a screen to filter out solids and piping to link 2 barrels together and send overflow through our gutter system.  Here they are:

Shortly after they were installed, there was forecast of rain.  We waited.  Would we actually get enough water to take care of the garden?  It rained, as forecasted, overnight.  It didn't pour rain like crazy- just enough that you could hear it with the window open.  The next morning, hubby went out to the barrels and came in like a kid in a candy shop.  They were full.  Completely full.  One night of rain had provided 110 gallons of water.  Like I said, Holy Water!  I never imagined that we would get that much water, that quickly.

Since our first night of rain, I think it is safe to say that the rain barrels have taken care of over 90% of the garden's watering.  Hubby ran a hose down the hill to the garden and it gets plenty of pressure to ensure those tasty veggies get what they need.  We have ran into a few small obstacles with the sealant used on the spigots, but we're working that out and couldn't be happier with the results.  Why didn't we think of this before????