Week in Review

Life always seems like it gets busier and busier and harder to recall the past. I'm 30 and I used to have a great memory, but it seems like it's not what I remember it to be : ) Seriously though I'm thinking I should start journaling my week or days in an actual book. My husband has a pocket calendar with a week covering the two pages. If something monumental happens on the farm it is recorded in the book. I have made the book a few times. He usually uses it to record harvest information. Like how many loads of corn silage were unloaded into the silo, if he lowered the unloader in the silo, dehorned the calves, weened the calves off of milk, moved calves to different group, replaced motors, machinery, etc. He also reports the weather--amount of snow or rain. I'm going to try and recall last week!

Monday- I worked at the coop. I only had a few loads of corn come in and the rest of the day I cleaned up and did stuff on the computer. We milked at 7pm tonight because we milked at 5am the next morning. Its always kind of strange when we milk so that we are in the house for good by 8pm. I watched Mike and Molly. Love that show! We had stuffed pork chops in the slow cooker for supper.

Tuesday- Up at 4:30am to milk by 5. It was nice to be done milking early, but we have a cow that is two days fresh (gave birth) and is not doing too hot. She is running a temp of 107 degrees which is like a 105 in humans. She is chewing her cud which is even more puzzling. My Godmother always told me that happy cow chews it's cud. Kurt treated her with some pain meds and IVed her which she dislikes as does Kurt. After morning chores were done, we got a two hour nap in which wasn't our best idea. Because we were classifying later that afternoon, which means we still needed to wash our cows tails, feed the cows, bed the cows with soybean straw, and have everything cleaned up. We also needed to vote. Today also celebrated our second year completed of milking three times a day. Kurt knows I dislike days where it feels like you live out in the barn. Ugh I dislike those days. I think I was out there for five hours straight. He brightened my day be suggesting we go out for supper. We had kind of planned to do that since we earned it for the milking three x. After voting we three went out to eat. I had chicken oscar. Its a grilled chicken breast with crab meat and asparagus covered with hollandaise sauce. Wow that was good.

Wednesday- I have to be honest. I don't remember what happened this day. I woud hope that I napped and I think I did. I know I watched The Middle and Modern Family that night.

Thursday- Today I worked at the coop. My normal days to work are Mondays and Tuesdays but because we were classifying I switched my Tuesday for this day. Our milk tester Patti stopped in by me for about an hour and she bought me lunch. Holy moly can that girl eat. She is petite and tiny and she claims her and food are pretty close. She ordered a chicken sandwich and fries and went to go pick up our order (I got a cheeseburger and fries). She saw the special was an Indian Taco so she ordered one of those too. She ate the taco first and then her sandwich and most of her fries. Then went to go test at farm that was a few miles away to the north. I was very full from lunch.

Friday- Today I thought I could hopefully get in some house cleaning before our lunch date with some friends but it did not happen. This whole week had a go-go theme to it so this day was no different. We stayed out in the barn after the cows were let out on pasture and did all the chores. This way after lunch all we have to is open the door and let the cows in and milk. Our lunch date was for 11:30 with two other couples. It went until 2:30 and we were just up the road at the golf course eating. I had wanted to milking by 2 because on most Friday nights we have Kurt's cousins son milk for us. Its easier if there is closer to eight hours of milk in the cows since he's a little slow at moving milkers. Well he came early tonight because he was going to same classifying party as us. We had a party the time before when we classified. Classifying takes place every seven months. It was so nice to come home after the party and not have to milk!

Saturday- Today I actually got some housework done. I did laundry, some vacuuming, and a little bit of dusting. I'm not done but it was a start and I also got a lot of office and bills put away. Mac and Kurt loaded a brush pile onto a flat rack and hauled to the back of our lane. Which is a half mile ride one way. Mac was getting pretty cold and had to add a pair of pants to what she had on already. I think they made three trips. We had sweet and sour chicken for supper. The extra is going to be my lunch at work on Monday. Kurt also had the vet come out to confirm if our cow had pneumonia because her temp would go down but wasn't staying down. It was pneumonia so now we are attacking it differently.

Sunday- Mac and I went to church and Kurt stayed home to doctor Shanna the cow. It was All Saints day and Kurt has an aunt who is dying of cancer-hospice has been called in. After church her daughter (who played the piano for church), came over to tell me that Kurt was to be a pallbearer for her when she passes. Which means I need to take Kurt shopping for new dress pants and a jacket so basically a suit. He needs an updated version. After sunday school, we went home and threw in a frozen pizza. A Home Run pizza which are made in Appleton and Kurt thinks they are great. Read the paper a little and then I rearranged the porch. My parents brought us their old (5 years) TV. I had to turn stuff around and I dusted and vacuumed out there. I love that room because before I moved it it was basically a junk room with a freezer. Now I have two chest freezers out there, two chairs, TV, treadmill, and plants. It's on the south side of the house so it gets nice and warm out there on cold days. We have a baseboard heater out there incase it gets too chilly. I also washed and folded more clothes. We had smoked sausage, cheesy hashbrown potatoes, and green beans.

Menu Plan Monday

Greetings, happy Monday! Blogging would be so much easier if I could plug my brain in and have everything dictate itself. Oh and if I'm going that route I would just be able to select pictures off my camera without downloading them. That's my internal issue. No worries. We have a busy week. I am working this week down at the coop weighing in loads of corn and soybeans. Ten hour days down there kick my butt and milking the third milking drop kicks my behind over a goal post. Literally. Hope my hubby takes pity on me a night or two. Check out OrgJunkie for all kinds of wonderful menu ideas.

Monday-Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, and salad

Tuesday-Hamburgers (leftover from Sat. night), mashed potatoes (leftover from weekend) or steak fries, and green beans

Wednesday-Pancakes, bacon, and fruit

Thursday-Homemade pizza and salad

Friday- I'm waving the white flag today. Picking up broasted chicken from the grocery store's deli or getting a carryout from somewhere. Maybe my ambition will peak on Friday and we'll have something really easy made from home. Either way the key word is easy : )

Saturday- Pork chops, cheesy potatoes, and green beans

20 days Later

My office is still a mess. I have much news to share mostly farm news but that is usually the only news I have to share around this place. I feel right now my life half slanted the wrong way and I'm walking downhill to get uphill. Does that make sense?

What I'm doing during my lockdown in the office.
Exciting necessary tasks which some have been neglected...I haven't kept up with my checkbook. The farm checkbook is intact but I still need to pay some bills out of it and get my checkbook in order. I also have two registrations for calves that were born in May. Um yeah it's September and I'm a little behind. It's a simple task but I need to printout the pics and fill out a form. Simple enough but not when you'd rather be napping. Yawn. I also need to add some files to the filing cabinet because the paper piles in here are driving me batty. I should also picture some articles and post them on craigslist because they are taking up space here in the office. Lastly I really need to copy pictures onto disk it's something that's been on my to-do list for two years. No lie.

What else am I doing today?
Glad you asked! Washing bedding because I have had a lovely fall cold as has my daughter. I actually have the alarm set on my phone to remind me when to go down to the basement and put another load in. 10 more minutes! I also have a kitchen that needs cleaning. Like refrigerator completely wiped down inside and out. Dishes washed. Table cleaned off and the floor mopped. This then carries into the bathroom which both vanities need to be cleaned and I need to take the shop vac to some cobwebs-yuck. Floor needs to be mopped as well. Back out of the bathroom back to the kitchen and go out to the entry way. I found this shelf with coat hooks on it at a rummage sale and I bought it for 1.75! I was looking for something like it but had only seen them at the store starting around 15 or 20 dollars. Kurt needs to hang this up which I could easily do but as he always tells me I want him to feel part of the team. Welcome!

How am I going get this done?
One step at a time? I guess I won't be taking a nap today. I also informed Kurt that I would be taking the afternoon milking off so I can actually accomplish something today. Good luck to me. I'm hoping with a productive day I'll starting walking uphill while going downhill...is that better? I hope so!

Goodbye Summer, Hello School

I always disliked the question, what did you do during your summer vacation. Um, the same thing I did the year before-nothing. That would be a cranky, spoiled kid's response (or mine). We always were asked this and then usually had to write some sort of essay regarding this topic. Yuck. Of course I expect my daughter to have to go through the same business. I even went as far as asking her the same question. I started in June and listed all of the fun stuff she got to do this summer. I personally wanted this summer to be one of the best summer's my daughter has had. Last summer was our first summer milking three-times-a-day which we had to get used to working around field work and making hay and Kurt was also working part-time at another farm. It was a grueling summer.

My daughter went to summer school for three weeks and took classes in Spanish, art, and playground fun. She also took swimming lessons for four weeks and collected candy at three parades. She had a few friends over and even had a sleepover. She went to my parents cabin for a weekend's time. We showed at the fair and she went on rides, played games, and got to show a calf. She also got to come and play with my boss's daughter who is the same age while I worked. The last full week of summer vacation we went to Wisconsin Dells. It is the waterpark capital of the world. I never went there as a kid and always wanted to so this was especially important to me that we go. My mom, Mac, and I left on a Thursday afternoon and came back Friday evening. It was tiring and I would have liked an extra day, but we had a good time.

If my daughter in the upcoming days needs to answer the burning question what did you do this summer, I hope she has a better answer than nothing.

30

Kurt always talks about remember how simple life used to be and usually this always refers to our three-time-a-day milking schedule. Birthdays however also remind me of how simple life used to be. Today at 30-years-old it doesn't feel nor do I think like I did when I was 20 that 30 was old. By the time I was a few years into my 20s I realized it wasn't old and you get the picture. It's just a lovely number, a new decade, another year to reach more milestones. To be four-years-old again? Hmmm maybe because back then my mom took care of the cake! : )

Decorating...If You Can Call It That

I have a little artist who likes to create different masterpieces at school, home, and anywhere in between. My fridge fills up fast and I have to switch out each artist original periodically to showcase the budding talent that my DNA created.

In our farmhouse, that my husband grew up in and lived his entire life there is a second flooor. The upstairs if you will. It has four total rooms. One of the rooms was used as a toy room when my husband was pretending to farm (he even pretended to milk the cows). When we moved in, the upstairs was where everyone took their unwanted materials and deposited them in any of the rooms. I should say by the time I moved in the "toy room" only had a pile in the corner and Kurt's old toys. Back to my artist...I decided to turn the toy room into an actual happy, functional toy room. It would be even happier if I had the patience to put some primer and paint over the lovely dark panelling but we'll save that for another time. I hung up a poster that was from a play my daughter was in last year. She won the right to bring it home out of the other cast members. This was headed for the recycling but I thought it would add a little something, something to the area.

This works for me!

I went to Hobby Lobby. Do you have Hobby Lobbys? Oh they are wonderful! I bought some thin, nylon string which I secured to the wall with pushpins (or thumbtacks, maybe they are the same thing?). I tied a knot in the end for the pin to go through and then strung a double line across the wall. Then I did another line a little lower. I figured small/shorter projects could go up on the top line and vice-versa on the lower line. Then I hung the lovely art creations up with clothes pins. I know it looks like all of our space is already filled up but that is not the case. The wall that mirrors the play poster wall is a full wall which has an empty line running the entire length of the wall. Notice the old pinball machine circa late 70s early 80s. It still works because the budding artist occasionally plays inbetween sessions.

The County Fair

Here is the low-key face-to-face "judging" for Coverbuds. Mac made a poster of the heifer she brought to the fair and the heifers family-kind of like a family tree of all of our Red and White Holsteins. This lady was a great person to have for Cloverbuds who were a little on the shy side. Mac also made a set of four coasters with her weaving loom.

Snow-Red resting comfortable at the fair.

Isabella mid-chewing her cud.

Mac bringing Snow-Red in for the winter calf class. I held the end of the halter which next year she will be all by herself when she shows in the junior show. Snow-Red did give her a little bit of trouble but all in all it went alright.




I apologize my camera takes crappy pics and this was far away but atleast Mac was looking at the camera. Here we are standing second in a class of four.

Since we placed second we got to go out for the picking of junior champion. The calf that placed ahead of us was chosen as Honorabe Mention.

This is the kids and calves showmanship competition. It's not too hard core but since it was Mac's last year doing this I wanted to see her do well. We borrowed a calf from our friends who showed this March calf in the junior show. Her name is Jewel and Maclayne really enjoyed leading her around the ring.

Hooray! She place second which meant she got a stuffed cow. I was probably more happy than she was because I'm not sure if she realized how she did. The last two years she has finished towards the top but not close enough to get the stuffed cow.

Can't wait until next years fair and hopefully we will have a March calf that she can show because it sure was a nice size for her.

Problems Uploading Pictures

Anyone else having this frustrating problem??? I would like to post about our County fair but the pictures make the post. You know what I mean?! I'll try back later.

Menu Plan Monday August 9

It's rather warm and sticky here. Tomorrow it's suppose to more humid and the heat is suppose to be higher as well. Thank goodness for air conditioning and showers. Because after each milking I usually take a shower to wash off the glow that my skin shines with from climbing in between 1600 pound cows. It's a beautiful thing-the shower and air conditioner. With the heat and humidity, I'm trying to use the oven sparingly. I am limited in my menu planning because I haven't been to the grocery store in two plus weeks. I'm out of eggs, bread, hamburger, you get the idea. I am heading to the store tomorrow morning hopefully I won't melt between here and there.

Monday- Hot beef sandwiches, sweet corn, green beans, and potato chips used the Crockpot Beef Roast recipe which I only used pickle juice to make it and made an awesome gravy here is the quick recipe:

In a separate saucepan over medium heat whisk 1 cup of drippings and a tablespoon of horseradish mustard together, then whisk in a brown gravy mix when bubbly add in 1 cup of cold water and stir constantly until boiling, then let simmer on low for a minute until thick...it was the perfect amount for the 2-3 pound roast I used.

Tuesday-Sweet and sour chicken, brown rice and green beans

Wednesday- French toast, bacon, and orange juice

Thursday- Pork chops, fried potatoes, cucumber salad, and regular lettuce salad

Friday- Sweet corn roast (which is so dang tasty!!!) and they will have burgers, brats, salads, and desserts galore. This is a thank you party the local snowmobile club puts on for the landowners that allow trails to go through their land. They also give us a gift certificate which is not necessary! Now that I've been to the sweet corn roast that is all I need!

Menu Plan Monday July 26th

This week is fair week as in the County fair. We are taking two calves to exhibit in Open class. Next year my daughter will be old enough to show in the junior show so this is kind of a test run for her. I'm thinking I'll be doing the majority of the work but that's normal right?! So if you thought my menus were simple before this is the simplest. I'm sure I'll be ready for some real food on Sunday!

Monday-Homemade pizza and salad

Tuesday- Sloppy joes, salad, corn, and pickles

Wednesday-Leftovers or grilled cheese and tomato soup

Thursday-Supper at the fair

Friday-Supper at the fair

Saturday-Supper at the fair

Sunday-Simple supper at home...popcorn, sandwiches, nuggets, or frozen pizza

So my plan for keeping cost down at the fair are bringing ham sandwiches, string cheese, beef stick chunks, beef jerky, chips, twizzlers, cookies, granola bars, cinnamon rolls, and lots of drinks. Hopefully all the junk during the day will keep the food tents at bay. Although I do love the homemade lemonade which I'm planning on buying the big refillable container. YUM!

What Keeps Me Moving

Finished baling our 2nd crop hay last Tuesday. We had two balers running and had everything unloaded an into the barn in three hours. The above picture was the last load on Saturday before the storm came through and drenched the cut hay. I was already in the house because I parked my tractor as far as I could in the shed and came in. That was kind of nice because I was able to read a book for awhile in peace and quiet. Then a couple of the guys hung around and I made up some noodles (I didn't have enough spaghetti) and heated up the meatballs I made the night before. Added a jar of spaghetti sauce and they were very happy. The night before after I had the urge to make about two pounds of meatballs I was wondering what in the world I was going to do with them. Worked out quite well.

Watch this mom! Do you think I'll get dizzy? My little girl is full of questions and likes to quiz people. Especially Kurt, what colors are on this, that, and the other thing...Sometimes I tell her enough but she's too funny. She's in swimming lessons right now and in denial that she needs to face her fear of deep water. Mind you she takes lessons in an actual swimming pool but she is afraid of sinking even with a life jacket. I'm quite sure she will be in level three come next year.

That would be the inside of our bulk tank. That "foam" on the sides is cream. I like this picture a lot. We were filling the tank like this regularly until the humidity came...Dear Humidity, it's you not me. Signed, Heat. : )

Every morning after chores all three of us work with the two calves we are taking to the fair next week. This really takes up more time than it seems it would but by the time I get into the house it's time to leave for swimming lessons. This picture was from April or May. The hooded sweatshirt was a give away. I need to get some more pictures similiar to this because she is doing a poster on her calf. She's actually going to do the poster on the calf and the other girl's in Snow-Red's family which are all of the other red and white cattle we have. Today since it's 1:30 am...I am going grocery shopping and regular shopping after we are done milking in about twelve hours from now so I had better hit the hay. Kurt is talking on the phone to his friend who is on call and driving home. He's keeping him awake and both of them like to talk. : )

Walgreens

I am a big fan of Walgreens and I mention this only because CVS was my former favorite drug store. When I did the Grocery Game, I did the majority of my stockpile buying at CVS. Looking back I didn't do that great of a job spending the lowest amount I could out of pocket. Now I am back playing the game (not officially through The GG) but at Walgreens and I love it. My biggest problem before was I would buy extras that were a low price but then I still had to pay out of pocket more than you actually should if playing "the game." This first group was back on June 23rd and I have been meaning to post it since then obviously I've been a little busy.

First Transaction 1st store

Contact solution 7.49

-Previous RR -6.00

Total w/tax=1.86

RR earned 7.50

Second Transaction 1st store

Razor 9.89

Shampoo 2.99

-Previous RR -7.50

-Razor coupon -4.00

Total w/tax 2.02

RR earned 5.00

RR earned 2.00

First Transaction 2nd Store Normally I wouldn't go to another store but I was running errands around town for my job and I really wanted the body washes which were not at the previous store. Shelf clearers are not our friends : )

Contact Solution 7.49 (this was such a great deal)

Candy bar (for filler item) .89

-Previous RR -5.00
-Previous RR -2.00

Total w/tax 1.75

RR earned 7.50

Second Transaction 2nd Store

Body wash 4.49
Body wash 4.49

Shampoo 2.99

Candy bar .89

-Body Wash B1G1 -4.49

-Previous RR -7.50

Total w/tax 1.47

RR earned 2.00

RR earned 4.00

So I started this post last Tuesday and am now completing it almost a week later. Ugh, I need a vacation or an assistant either way it sounds lovely. I just could not afford either.

PS-Thanks for sticking with my blog if there are any readers out there : )

Menu Plan Monday July 12

We have been working around the weather trying to get the remainder of our second crop off the field and into the hay mow. What fun that has been and I have the funky sunburn to prove it-blah!!! We only have about four wagon loads or 600 bales to be made. It's looking like tomorrow I will be on the tractor raking the hay which means I'll be pulling a piece of machinery that will flip over the winnrowed hay so it dries on both sides. We made a huge effort to get it done on Saturday and we had a tons of help to unload the wagon but a storm came through and rained us out.

This week starts swimming lessons which for some reason I now feel like I am in a groove for summer. Which means I feel like I am actually accomplishing things, and I accomplish things most days just not all I want to get done in the house. It's a good feeling, but my menu this week is keeping it pretty simple so I can make food ahead. Trying to get this hay done is not friendly to menu plans. I planned on grilling up burgers, brats, and hot dogs for everyone on Saturday so maybe that will be tomorrow night...I don't know. I even planned lunches since I have Maclayne to feed which makes lunch an actual regular event that has to occur otherwise I'm a bad mom. : )

Lunches (or we call it Dinner)

Mac n cheese and hot dogs

Turkey burgers

Grilled cheese

Homemade pizza

Spaghettios (that's for Mac)

Supper

Cheesy Tuna Noodles

Hamburger Helper (Mac's request of course)

Taco Casserole

Leftovers

Pork Chops

Crispy Chicken Breasts or Chicken Stirfry

Planning on making this later too

Kurt's Favorite Cookies

Menu Plan Monday June 28th

Monday- Cheesy hamburger noodle bake...basically homemade mac 'n cheese with hamburger

Tuesday- Chicken breasts, plain homemade mac 'n cheese, salad, and green beans

Wednesday- Sloppy joes, beans, chips, and corn

Thursday- Pork chops, stuffing, salad, and green beans

Friday- Unsure because Mac has a birthday party and we'll probably be busy putting in our second crop haylage so the simpler the better...maybe chicken from the grocery store's deli (it's good stuff) or their perch (good too)

Saturday- Brats, hamburgers, and hot dogs, chips, and bars (we'll probably be unloading hay this day so if the weather cooperates I will have a few boys to feed and boy can they eat!)

More menu idea's at OrgJunkie

Mac 'n Cheese Mania

I have only posted one recipe for June Dairy month which is quite pathetic. Now I have more reason than ever to be a June Dairy month advocate because I am one. I was recently recruited to become part of our counties dairy promotion board. This board's largest job is to pull of the annual Breakfast of the Farm. Party coordinators? Hmm, I have thrown two, count them TWO successful surprise birthday parties. I'm think this could be a little more work but I'm all for it since I love my cows and I love Wisconsin dairy farms. With that being said here is my second and probably last recipe for June Dairy month.

30 Days 30 Ways of Macaroni and Cheese

and there are actually more than 30 recipes. Please check out so many awesome recipes!

June is Dairy Month Recipe 1

from allrecipes.com

Since we are already 12 days into June, I am going to kick it into high gear with some very dairy recipes. When I was growing up, I remember getting ice cream at the coop and cheese and crackers at the banks to celebrate June Dairy month. Our 4-H club would pass out cheese at the grocery store and I think they later moved to ice cream cones. A lot of counties in Wisconsin also host Breakfast on Farms at designated farms throughout the state. The breakfasts take a lot of preparation usually include petty zoo, kids games, antique cars or tractors, live music (usually polka bands), church services (since most are held on Sundays), and of course some type of breakfast is served (ours is eggs, hashbrowns, cinnamon rolls, cheese, milk, and sometime ice cream. I wonder if other states have other ways of celebrating June Dairy month? Have you all heard of June Dairy month.

The radio station we listen to in the barn is a country station and they have not mentioned that it is June Dairy month once. They also did not last year because I was out in the barn every morning milking by myself so it was just me, the girls, and a radio. Now there is another country radio station that is going to a different dairy farm each day of June. I think that is awesome! A lot of farmers have the radios in their barns on the station we have so I'm wondering if any of them have noticed as well.

Here is my first recipe Blueberry Cream Muffins

How I Decorate

Some people I know wrinkle their noses at me when I mention rummage sales or Goodwill. If they only know what they were missing, I have been able to add to my cow collection for as little as ten cents! I also receive cow items for my birthday or Christmas. The above cow head I got for Christmas a few years ago. I didn't immediately like it but now I'd have to say it is one of my favorites.

Paid $1 for this at a rummage sale about six years ago. It hangs over the large doorway going into the living room from the dining room. 99% of my cows are in the kitchen/dining room area.

This is a cow themed windchime. It has a miniature tire around the cow on the top that says Welcome. The bottom chime area are milk bottles. I couldn't pass this up this spring at a rummage sale for a $1.

Sometimes I find cute items that match the colors in the room and no one would ever think I got it at a rummage sale again for a dollar. The opposite walls are blue and the saying is pretty cute on this little print.

I found the picture on the left at a rummage sale of a friends. I really liked it but it seemed like the perfect spot for this picture would be in a bathroom or laundry room in my opinion. Then when I painted the kitchen the flowers from the painting really popped out and with the frame coordinating with the opposite dining room walls it fit. For a dollar, I could not go wrong either way.

I was so glad we stopped at the rummage sale I found this wall hanging. For ten cents, I was able to replace the ugly cut out cow that was hung indefinetly in it's spot. Seriously, any non-rummagers believers yet???!!!

On this wall I got a snowman in the shape of a star that was hanging here for Christmas. As it got warmer I desperately needed to change the decor. My mother-in-law had a tow rack on this wall. I'm not sure why anyone would hang a towel bar above a stove but there was one there. I took it down when I painted and never planned to reinstall it. So there are large screw holes where I have the bottom hanging attached to the wall. I also paid a dollar for the birdhouse hanging. The tin star above it I found a few years ago and I paid no more than 50 cents.

This is linked to WFMW.

If only this came with autopilot

It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about but lack of energy, ambition, and being down right tired have kept me off the computer. I have wrote blog posts in my head while out in the barn working, but the worst time for me to post is after my husband has made me grumpy. When I'm tired, it usually doesn't take too long to make me grumpy.

• Yesterday was my parents 31st wedding anniversary. They went out for lobster and steak which is their usual celebration. My anniversary was two weeks from yesterday, and this has me hungry for lobster. I haven't had lobster in a couple years so we should probably go for it right! We have a gift certificate and a coupon from my Entertainment book that is buy one get one free (or up to $8 off). Which I don't think any of their meals at this place are less than 8. Fifteen dollars is probably the average there and their food is so good. I could make a meal out of the salad bar.
• Kurt proposed to me three years ago today. I asked him if he remember what today was and he started talking about how it was the day his life was over, etc, etc. Instead I told him it was the last day of school.
• Maclayne had to go to school today until 1:20 and then they are dismissed until September 1. She will actually start summer school on Monday and that runs for three weeks. Summer school is very popular here believe it or not. Mac is signed up for Spanish, art, and playground games. Kind of nice because she is in a routine for three weeks and then we start another routine for swimming lessons. Swimming lessons run all through the summer in two week sessions. This year I decided to decrease my running around with her and hopefully only leave the house once a day.
• We cut our hay going on a month this coming Monday. Ideally a farmer would like to be able to cut their hay every four weeks. Hopefully this will happen for us because then hopefully we will be able to get more crops of hay off this year. A good year of hay is four crops, but an exceptional year would be five. We could really use four crops of hay this year. So when it's humid and hot and then we get some rain you'll know that is good for hay and it's really good for the corn. I hate the humidity but it helps make good feed for our cows and we need a lot of feed made this year. We have had to buy a lot of hay and almost had to buy corn silage.
• A week from tomorrow it is tentatively planned that our milk will be going to Red Barn Family Farms. I hope we start making money right away. Our financial situation is no better than we were last year. We are still waiting to hear if we have gotten a loan which really stinks because if we get the loan that would open up our checkbook so we could start paying off items. That would be such a wonderful thing.
• I'm getting sleepy now. Five hours of sleep at night doesn't do a body good. Last week I took naps two days in a row where I slept for four hours. My body must think it's going to bed so I am out when I lay down. I will be back sooner rather than later this time. I have plenty to blog about specifically June is Dairy Month!

Menu Plan Monday

It's really stinky hot here for May. It was 90 degrees here today which was a record but thankfully it is very breezy. We are working of filling our silo with chopped hay which we call haylage once it is in the silo. Our barn is hotter than you know what too. The cows have been going back outside at night which they love and that breeze feels so good. Our barn would be cooler but it has tunnel ventilation and we are getting a south wind. Our fans pull air through the barn at the south end so the wind is working against the fans. Anyway which leads me to feeling not too ambitious in the cooking area.

Monday- Hamburger helper, green beans

need to use up milk that expires soon and I have a lot in the fridge to drink...3 gallons well 4 including the ones I'm trying to use up asap

Tuesday- Crockpot Beef Roast, carrots, and potatoes

will be using this throughout the week for supper and lunches

Wednesday- Hot beef sandwiches, beans, jello, and chips

I'm going to the zoo with my daughter's class still suppose to be warm...hoping for a breeze!

Thursday- Crispy Ranch Chicken, salad, potatoes, and green beans

Friday- Turkey and Beef Meatballs-I'm not sure how or what I'll serve them with...they may go in the crockpot

Saturday- Smoked sausage with homemade baked beans and veggies

Check out OrgJunkie for more menu ideas!

Just Another Day

Last Monday's weather was perfect. The rest of the week was rainy and cloudy. Monday the COO of a Green Bay hospital came to our place to film a segment that goes on the hospital's intranet for the employees to watch. The segment was about Red Barn Family Farms of course. In the photo from left to right is my husband, my boss who is also a veterinarian, the COO, the cameraman, and my boss's son.

After getting some shots from outside of the electric fence, the cameraman and others headed in between the lines to get up-close and personal with our cows. We have friendly and curious cows like Ireland who even licked my other boss's hair. Which didn't freak her out because she did grow up on a farm. It was a good laugh.

More of our girls checking out the hospital's girls. Good thing these two girls also grew up on farms, but I'm not sure what the one was thinking wearing a skirt. She held the cue cards for what the COO had to say into the camera.

Here I caught Dynasty so he could hold her while he filmed a portion of his segment. In the background is Paula my boss, the COO's assistant, and Kurt. The cameraman was standing to my left along with the lady in the skirt. Can you tell the COO was slightly uncomfortable? Dynasty is a huge cow but she is very gentle. After we got the cows in the barn and started milking, they filmed another segment of him milking Dynasty. When I get the footage from the day, I am hoping to be able to post it here. Hopefully it will be ready for viewing soon and you can see a someone candid view of Lime-Acres.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday- Hamburger Helper, salad, and green beans

simple supper and I don't feel too guilty about it being a boxed meal

Tuesday- Tacos and cornbread
4-H tonight and there are tons of snacks after the meeting. I think this was on last weeks plan but I made sloppy joes instead.

Wednesday- Chicken stirfry

Another retread from last week that did not get made, it's my favorite!

Thursday- Smoked sausage, potatoes, saurkraut, and veggies

Friday- We are going to a cattle sale and we'll eat there. They'll have brats, hamburgers, or hot beef or something easy to eat.

I've been very pokey. This was started on Monday and not finished until Wednesday. I've been busy but I've also been the queen of procrastination lately. While being the queen of procrastination, I usually get things done that I planned on NOT getting done because I'm avoiding what I really should be doing.

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Monday everyone! My body is telling me today is more like the middle or end of the week. I am beat! I'm going to take my contacts out soon and throw myself onto the couch. YAWN! Hopefully I can get in an hour or half hour nap before we milk. I made up a pretty simple menu...again for this week. Take a look!

Monday- Homemade pizza

Tuesday- Hot turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans

Wednesday- Tacos and cornbread

Thursday- Chicken stirfry

Friday- Haddock or tilapia, french fries, and salad

Saturday- I'm thinking meatloaf. It's been a long while.

Check out OrgJunkie for more menu ideas!

Say What

My daughter came home from school Wednesday and told Kurt how while playing on the playground she kind of hurt herself. She said she ran into a pole on the left side of her body. Which meant she bumped her leg, but she also hurt her heart according to her. She relayed the same story to me later.

That night she had some reading to do which she had to read to me on the Aztecs. She got a part where they talked about the Aztecs giving hearts to the chiefs (I think) or others that were thought highly of. After reading about the hearts, Maclayne said, "That wasn't very appropriate with my heart hurting and all." It's not something she has ever said but it was used perfectly in context. I'm sure the teachers use the word appropriate a lot when correcting or scolding the kids. Glad she's expanding her vocabulary voluntarily.

Menu Plan Monday

My eight-year-old daughter helped me put together this week's menu. I'm very hungry for vegetables. Last week we went to three parties in the beginning of the week. Its not what you're thinking, I'm sure. They were parties in barns. The standard food is sloppy joe, hot turkey, etc, chips, bars, and taco dip. Sounds great but gets old after awhile.

Monday- Hamburger helper, salad, and green beans

Tuesday- Pancakes, bacon, and sliced fruit

Wednesday- Tacos, cornbread, and green beans

Thursday- Pork chops, mashed potatoes, and carrots

Friday- Haddock or tilapia, oven fries, and salad

Saturday- Homemade pizza and salad

More menu ideas here

I Apologize

I have been busy. Busy working with my job, working on the farm, and a whole lot of life in general. Taking pictures of cows in various settings is part of my job.

Last week I took some pictures of Kurt milking but most important of all was Kurt kissing Dynasty the cow. One of Red Barn's marketing tools is digital photo frames with picture from Red Barn farms and people. One customer in particular wanted pictures with more interaction. Like for instance someone kissing a cow. Seriously. We don't kiss the cows. Uh maybe I'll give a baby a kiss on its head but the cows are kind of lethal with their heads. You could get easily be knocked out if you ticked them off messing with their heads. Dyansty is a pretty gentle cow. She was showed as a heifer by 4-H kids so she is pretty tame. She's also one of the tallest cows we have. She doesn't look too happy in the pic though.

Also needed pictures of Mac interacting with the cows. I had a pic from a couple years ago where Mac is bottle feeding a calf and that is the pic they chose to use.

We classified our cattle two weeks ago. This pic was taken while they were getting scored. Nice full udders and clean tails. Clean tails are the best. The alternative is far worse. We also had a party the night we classified so I had to get all the food ready. It is just a long exhausting day and then you throw in a party it's down right ridiculous. I went to bed at 2am and Kurt went to bed around 5am. Farmers are crazy. When they have an opportunity to have fun they take full advantage of it because these parties don't happen a whole lot. But this time during classifying for our county their were four other parties. Ours was the first on Thursday then another on Friday which we did not go to because we were too dang tired. Then Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we went to the other parties but we were home by 10pm.

This week Kurt has started planting corn which is kind of early but its dry and the sun is out. Our house has a cold bug go through it which makes you feel kind of cruddy and tired. Maclayne had a stomach bug Tuesday night and she thought she needed to go to the doctor. Which in to me seemed kind of funny, but the poor girl rarely gets sick so when she feels cruddy, she feels really cruddy. So she went to the bathroom and had some Pepto and a Tylenol and was back outside helping her dad unload baled shavings off the truck ten minutes later. To go from one extreme to the next was crazy but I kind of figured she as going a little being on dramatic requesting to go to the doctor. Fortunately for her, she gets to have her eight year checkup today! Then we'll stop at Kohls, Hobby Lobby, and maybe my least favorite place the W word.

PS-Thanks for sticking with me. I am seriously trying to find a nice balance with the following...farming, family, exercising, computer work, Red Barn work, homemaking, relaxing, and fun. We actually watched two movies this past weekend. I think I'm getting a hang of this relaxing on the weekends. Horray!

Trip Pics Silo Rooms

These are the steps on the second floor that lead up to the sitting room in the silo.

There was a little alcove area before entering the sitting room where a coffee maker was set up. Very thoughtful, but we don't drink coffee.

It was really fogging the day we arrived. Can you tell? There were books up there to read which was a really nice touch.

Kurt reading his Dave Ramsey book. He got quite a bit read and he is not the reading kind of guy. We spent a lot of time on that couch reading and watching tv. It was very comfy!

The ceiling of the lower part of the silo. There was a mural painted around the hot tub and in sky part of the mural there are little stars painted. They glowed in the dark if you turned off the light which was pretty neat.

A very nice relaxing place. If you are ever in the Door County area, go check out the Cornerstone! Still can not believe that we went away for an entire weekend. Even though it happened a month ago, I can say I am good (unfortunately) for another year or so but hopefully it is not that long until another vacation.