Menu Plan Monday

Monday-Smoked sausage, potatoes, saurkraut, and sweet corn


Tuesday-Hamburger, noodles, and corn casserole


Wednesday-Tacos with cornbread


Christmas Eve-Grilled ham and cheese sandwhiches or something with ham...we have the Christmas program to get to.


Christmas- More ham, scalloped or cheesey potatoes, and many other wonderfully, yummy foods at our house as long as we don't have to reschedule due to snow. : ) Who am I kidding! We'll still eat even if it is only the three of us!



Check out more great menu ideas here!

Christmas Quiz

My friend Loree sent me this and since I do not having anything too exciting to blog about currently this is it!



1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real
3. When do you put up the tree? Sooner the better after Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? Soon after New Years
5. Do you like eggnog? Doesn’t even sound good
# 6 is missing!!! Where did it go?
7. Hardest person to buy for? My nieces
8. Easiest person to buy for? Kurt
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Two
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Best Christmas gift you ever got? Wierdest I could answer, probably the KitchenAid mixer Kurt had me go get for myself last week.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, It's a Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Of course!
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Everything...candy, cookies, carmel corn!
16. Lights on the tree? Yes
17. Favorite Christmas song? Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Go Tell it on the Mountain...I could go on and on....
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Depends...does driving 40 minutes count?
19. Can you name all of Santa's deer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen… Rudolph
20. Tree top? The angel which for some reason is not lit up.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning: Santa doesn't come until you're in bed so AM
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Using the word xmas...that annoys me to no end and calling it Holiday this, Holiday that...it's Christmas if you're not a believer then get over it but don't ruin my Christmas.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? No theme, but I like my clear lights with my different ornaments
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Spiral-sliced Ham with scalloped potatoes!
25. What do you want to do for Christmas this year? Actually be able to enjoy it.

The Blizzard

Not the Blizzards you get from Dairy Queen but snowstorm Allison which turned into Blizzard Allison happend Tuesday night through Wednesday. We received about 15 inches of snow. Kurt plowed snow for six and half hours yesterday. Today was a catch up day. Or atleast try to catch up. I did three loads of laundry and got one folded. The dumb thing is I folded the barn clothes first. If these are wrinkled, etc no one will know, but I think I did them because there are less to fold. Oh well, I only cheated myself because I still have two bulging baskets. Kurt and I did get a nap on the couch. That hit the spot. We had to go to our neighbors so they could show us how to do their milking chores. They are going to wedding tomorrow night. The person who usually milks for them is the groom. So we offered. I think we kind of crazy and boy is their barn freezing! It is about zero out and maybe 40 in the barn. Our barn is around 55 degrees which is quite comfortable...I think I'll bring thermometer with to find out what it really is.



Now I think Kurt is asleep on the couch and it is time to go out for the last milking. I have an internal conflict going on in my head on nights like this. I could go out and start milking because the sooner I get the sooner you get in. Or I could nudge him to make room for me and go and fall asleep for an hour or so. Pick your poison. Yawn and brrrr.

This Week

This is only second or third day of the week and it's already hectic. Yesterday I made snow drifts and dipped Oreo balls. Friday I made my version/my mother's of peanut butter cups. I bake peanut butter cookies in mini muffin tins. When they are almost done I take them out of the oven and press a miniature peanut butter cup into the middle of the cookie. I put these in the freezer and only let Kurt have a few. They would be gone for sure otherwise.


Today I am at work. There wouldn't be much going on today since we are suppose to get a foot of snow between today and tomorrow. Our bins are also full of corn so not much can happen. So I sit in my chair and hold down the place. That's why they pay me. The nice thing about coming to work is I can get things done here that I wouldn't make time for at home. Before I quit working off the farm, I always reconciled my checkbook and paid bills at work. Because I had idle time and I figure whatever I can get done at work leaves me more time for the fun stuff at home. Like dishes, sweeping, cooking supper you know that fun stuff!


I give a lot of food gifts and I need to figure out how much I need to make and who is receiving the goods. A Christmas card list would be helpful. My husband thinks I should get those done soon. I would prefer to get the tree decorated first. My daughter is dying to decorate it but I need Kurt's help with lights. Last night I was suppose to get that done, but Kurt got in late and ugh it was a late night. We fell asleep on the couch until 11:30 and we still had to milk yet. I got about five hours of sleep so I know tonight I am going to be sleepy. There probably is not going to be school in the morning and there will be snow to plow. The sooner we get to bed the better since I'm sure it will be a long day Wednesday. Yippee. Wednesday night we have a banquet to go to. Last year we had a ton of snow and no school the day of the banquet. This year we have to drive further than a mile and a half but I'm sure all will go well.


Thursday we will be going over to our neighbor's during their night milking. We offered to milk for them Friday night since they have a wedding reception to go to. This is probably the thing I am looking the least forward to, but I like helping. Hopefully I do not have to work this weekend. It is going to be a high in the teens on Thursday and Friday and the lows around 3. The snow looks pretty coming down right now. Stay warm and warm up those shovels!

Meal Plan

Last year, yes last year I bought a two turkeys. I just roasted the second one yesterday. It was not freezer burnt and was quite tasty. I rubbed it with butter and kosher salt. Then I found of jar of turkey rub by McCormicks in the closeout area of the grocery store yesterday morning for 99 cents. I had to buy it and it made the turkey smell great and it looked purty.

Yesterday-Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn (squash would have been really good with it but I did not have any)


Tuesday- Turkey either sandwiches or with dressing, potatoes, and veggies


Wednesday- Holstein banquet


Thursday- Tacos and cornbread


Friday- Hamburgers, french fries, and baked beans

Breakfast Pizza

One morning I had some leftover bacon and an abundance of Grands canned biscuits, and ta-da breakfast pizza with a few additonal ingredients. I also did not use all of the biscuits, but instead rolled them out for individual pizzas. I originally thought to make individual breakfast pizzas but decided I liked making one big crust instead. This was really good the next day for breakfast (or a snack if you're like me)!



Ingredients

Canned biscuits-I used Grands
6-8 eggs scrambled-soft set
your favorite cooked meats and veggies in bite-size pieces
shredded cheese


Spray an 11x15 baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Press biscuits across the bottom to form a crust. I had two leftover biscuits but that will vary depending on how think you make your crust. Take a fork and poke holes all over crust to aerate it. This is done so the crust cooks all the way through and is not soggy. I do this with homemade pizza crust. Spread almost cooked scrambled eggs over crust then top with your veggies and meat. Last lightly sprinkle cheese over the top. A little goes a long way.


Put this in a preheat 375 degree oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it because cooking time depends on the thickness of your crust and you don't want the cheese to get too brown. I hope you enjoy this. For more recipes go on over here!

A Typical November

November. Where did it go? We spent it getting a lot of farm-related things done. Like picturing calves so we can register them. Most of them had attitude and my camera is super slow that I had pics that looked like this. It took atleast a second picture so you could see all of them for identification.


These are soybeans up close and ready to be taken off. A month ago these lovely, profitable legumes were taken off so we could cash in.

It doesn't look like money. But it is, it is and we really needed it.

Ready to go to the bank, I mean the mill. Oops.

Otherwise I have been busing feeding these guys (girls).




And this one and others like it...I was going to take a pictures of a cow having a calf yesterday. She had the front legs out to the knees so I went to the house to get my camera. I came back out and all but the hips were out. Usually they are a bit pokey about pushing.



The day we combined our corn we borrowed a set of wagons which I went to go pickup in town. I didn't see them at the mill where they were suppose to be left so I went and got lunch. Then brought it out to the yahoos (Kurt and his friend Andy) in the combine. That's when I saw the set of wagons. Signed, sealed, and delivered...I think they just wanted me to go get them lunch.

This was scene throughout the day. Kurt racing down the driveway with his loads of corn.

You know I started this post Tuesday Dec 1st. We had a mound septic put in and the turkeys cut the power when I was working on it. No warning. Everything went blank and quiet. I have recipe I have been working on since many Fridays ago. Maybe you will the recipe soon rather than later : )

Filling the Silo

If you look over the corn, you can see the top of the tractor, chopper, and chopper box. We are making corn silage which is chopped corn. The chopped corn then ferments and is a great energy source for cattle.

For having not so great weather, our corn did alright. We always seem to get some corn saving rain in August and July which makes all the difference.

Wisconsin leads the nation in production of corn silage. Go corn silage!



Poor Kurt. It was windy and cold and his vest is too big for him. At least it kept him warm, but he sure looks poofy.

I was looking for Kurt and couldn't figure out where he was. Then I looked up and there he was. Sixty feet up on top of the silo.

He was up there adjusting the hood so the silage would blow further into the silo. Although at first I could not get this thing to move for me. Eventually I figured it out. Along with 60 feet worth of yelling, I got it done.

Job done. I saved him a trip. He owes me. But he knows he owes me, and I probably owe him.

Down he comes. Last year I was in the house and Kurt sent me a text message picture. It was an aerial view of our lane. It took me a minute to figure out that Kurt was up on top of the silo. He thought he was being funny. Then he sent me a couple more. Funny guy.

Almost on the ground safe and sound. The silo is now filled and we are going through the feed faster than we like.

Next up. Soybeans and Corn. Exciting. I promise it will get better! I am at work, "working really hard!"

A Quick Hi

I thought last week was bad but when everything is scheduled for the next (this) week I should have known. I can't tell you what we did Monday. Tuesday the combine came and took off our beans. We also had our milk tester here which is done during the first two milkings of the day. I went out at 1 and was back in a little after 5. Then all three of us went back out close to 7. We had to put up plastic along the mow walls in the upstairs of the barn where a semi load of shavings was going to be deposited in the morning. Yuck. Kurt had a chopper box and a half of bean straw to blow on top of the shavings. This made for a long morning. I also had to play trucker and take our bull calf up to the sale barn. Oh and another load of shavings came this morning. This week has been expensive, productive, and a money-making time all at once. When all of this occurs so does a little thing I like to call STRESS. Oh my has it ever been. Financial problems all year long. Last year the month of November stunk and this year it does as well. Being in the negative is not fun but being negative a few thousand is even crappier. If and when we make it to the end of the year, I will breath a sigh of relief. Also my accountant is coming in an hour and half and I need to finish the last entries for October. I asked Kurt, "When Mike leaves can we take a nap?" He thought that might be possible! I am also getting ready for the Holstein meeting that is here next Tuesday. Cleaning, grocery shopping, and preparing all need to be done. Our biggest thing is our paperwork for our loan. We are so close to being done. That is what I have been up to. I have pictures to share hopefully this weekend. Talk at you soon!

PS- Tomorrow the hoof trimmer is coming and we have about 20 cows to trim. With it getting dark before 5 now we'll need to hustle. Then Saturday (maybe I'll be working-hopefully) Kurt has manure to haul and the neighbor lady's horse manure to haul on Sunday. Yippee!

Working in the Rain

I started filling in at my old job that I was pressured to leave before getting married to my high-maintenance husband last summer. Just kidding. I really did start working though. I thought I would have my job back all to myself, but instead I am filling in when needed at the moment. The other chick is looking for a different job. She drives an hour and 15 minutes to sit in my chair and I drive four miles. So here I sit raking in the money. Ahhh the sweet sound. I have not heard it in so long. I worked last Saturday, today, and the remainder of the weekend except it looking rainy which means no work. Because it is a weekday we are here, and I have to keep myself busy.



Because it's raining the combines are not running and if they are not running, that eliminates 90% of my job. I brought my farm bookwork to do. I have July to the current bookwork to do. I actually finished July and am rewarding myself to surf the internet for awhile. Kurt the brat is napping. How dare he without me! He used to come and have lunch with me or take me out for lunch. This was before we were married or milking three times a day. I think I might ask him to take me out today. That's fair right? I could really go for some perch. That is a popular thing to do on a Friday is to have fish, Catholic or not. Not I am and I love perch. If taking me out to lunch does not fly with him, and it might not because the hoof trimmer is coming at 1:30pm. With the rain hoof trimming will probably be cancelled and Kurt will be free...to nap some more. Jerk. I guess he deserves it...today.

Menu Plan Monday

Here is what I have planned for supper around here...

Chili and cornbread

Smoked sausage, potatoes, and a veggie

Pancakes and bacon

Hamburgers, flavored noodles, and a veggie

Poorman's lobster (from last week)

Pork chops with gravy, potatoes, and a veggie

Check out more menus here

Help Me!

I am stuck on Facebook. Who knew this would be so addicting???!!! Then again I did not keep up with too many people from high school which was only 11 years ago. I guess a lot does happen in that short of time! My oh my there are a lot of people on there. People I have not thought about in years! Seriously...There is too much...help I'm falling back in.............

Menu Plan Monday

Last week we were kind of naughty. Well I was naughty. I go through these streaks where I can not cook. Just the thought of it makes me freak out. It kind of comes and goes with my cycle...aren't you glad you know that! It's like clockwork every other month or two I hit a serious rut. This week I can't afford to be so lazy. So I buckling down and cooking if I like it or not. I do like to cook but part of my brain last week was not into it at all.

Monday-Scalloped potatoes and ham (FREE Sara Lee : ) ), peas, and more carbs-bread

Tuesday-Leftovers and Kurt has his Holstein meeting-they are having barbeques and lots of other goodies...if I didn't have to milk I would go to. I was invited but I do have a sleeping little girl who I can't leave home either. Next time!

Wednesday-Swiss Steak with mashed potatoes (from last week)

Thursday-One Dish Supper (from last week)

Friday-Poorman's Lobster, french fries, coleslaw, rye bread

You'll notice there are potatoes galore in our plan this week. My mom brought me a 50 pound bag and she has another 50 pounder for me too. I want to get a jump start on them because believe it or not it takes awhile to eat 100 pounds of potatoes.

No More Diet Pop For Me

As long as I can remember I have drank pop and since about high school drank 99.9% diet pop. Kurt never liked my drinking pop. He called it Diet Fat as in it makes you fat. I don't know about that one, but he received an email about the harm the artificial sweeteners cause to your body. Fine, whatever but I still drank my pop happily. Last August (2008) I noticed my feet were starting to bother me. I really noticed when I would get up off of the couch (we have recliners so my feet would sometimes be elevated) and try and walk somewhere. It felt like I had a peg for a foot. I had no strength at first when I would start walking. I hobbled until my foot warmed up. This would occur in the morning too. I attributed it to milking every day and being on concrete for longer than I was used to.



Other people I talked to along with my midwife told me they had similiar issues and it was Plantar Fasciitis. My midwife told me going barefoot was a big no-no. She also suggested going to a podiatrist. I'm not into running to the doctor so I never did. My midwife's podiatrist made her a special arch support for her shoe. I ended up buying some Dr. Scholls arch supports. They felt like they did something but not much. Meanwhile the pain in my feet was getting more painful. In the insides of my foot it just ached like crazy. If I stood too long, they were really screaming for mercy. I bought Dr. Scholls gel arch supports. These felt a little better. I got two pair so I could have one in my barn shoes and tennis shoes. About three weeks ago, I got new barn shoes. My feet were in a lot of pain with my other ones. I think I had size 9.5 or 10 in womens. Get this. My new shoes are a size 10 in mens. My feet are humongous. But apparently you are not suppose to be able to feel the inside of the shoes with your toes, who know?!



After I got the new shoes, I was still tempted to call a doctor for an appointment. I actually started mentioning it to Kurt that I should maybe make an appointment. I was in a lot of pain and going to the doctor was the last resort in my book. I was taking Advil and Excedrin when I needed it as well. Kurt finally said its that pop your drinking. I only drink a can a day. On a bad day I have three but usually it is a can a day. I was so sick of my feet bothering I said, "Fine. You want me to quit? I will." And I did. I even had bought three 12-packs the week before because they were on sale. Oh well.



I quit two and half weeks ago. I started drinking regular pop but it is just too sweet. So instead of opening a can I have bought 2-liters. I don't even drink a can equivalent a day. Oh and the most important part. My feet are feeling so much better! It is amazing! I barely hobble around when I get up in the morning. I can go barefoot in the house for awhile without feeling slightly crippled. It is great. I am hoping I can quit drinking pop all together, but one step at a time.

Napping

It is raining today. A nice steady rain with dark, gloomy skies. The perfect napping weather. My only problem is lately is does not matter what the weather is by 10:30 I am needing a nap. After I had Mac I rarely napped. I looked forward to the time she was napping and thats when I got all of my mopping, dusting, and general cleaning done. Once I met Kurt naps just seemed to naturally fall in somewhere during the afternoons. Last November when we went to three-time-a-day milking napping occurred in the am or sometimes are 8pm.




I never liked to nap before because it seemed like I could be doing something more constructive with my time. Now it is a necessity. Around 10:30 I have a hard time functioning unless I have had a large amount of sleep banked. Because I usually get to be between 11 and midnight and I have to be up at 5. I know they recomment eight hours of sleep in a row, but I'm thinking I could only do seven. Wow, seven hours sounds awesome! Someday....ahhhh. Kurt and I went away last year for two and half days (another wow!) and we always woke up around seven. I tried really hard to sleep longer but I just could not do it. Darn you routine! So back to my napping problem. It seemed like I was not getting much done. Yesterday I started out real strong and had two loads of laundry hung out but by 11 I was beat. I have a goal now each day to atleast accomplish one room or a project besides the normal dishes and laundry. Somedays thats about all I can handle.




My blog friend Miriam had an awesome giveaway back in April which I won. It was a copy of the book More Hours in My Day by Emilie Barnes. There are a lot of great tools and ideas in that book which I have tried to implement for my own routine. My best advice is to make a list and if you need to nap atleast the list can help you stay on track. Hopefully when I start working again I will have a really nice system because there is not going to be time for naps. I will be the energizer bunny that gets to bed before 11 or gets up after 5 maybe around 6 : )




I have a list to make for today. Checkbook to balance, bills to pay, shower to take, three loads of laundry to fold....four actually. I like to fold laundry while I watch TV that way atleast I'm getting something done. That rain sure makes a girl sleepy and the furnace just kicked on! Bad combination! I also forgot to mention...my naps have been running atleast 2 hours to 3 hours long. That is not really a nap then is it? Or just a really long nap?

Title

I was going to add some pictures to this post but they are not cooperating. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed, stressed, disoriented, tired, confused, disorganized, and generally unproductive. I think this all stems from spending too much time with four-legged animals. Specifically the variety that is milked three-times-a-day in our barn. For some reason it feels like I am responsible for feeding each and every breathing mammal on this place in the morning, and it's frustrating me just a little. That drains me out not sure why but it is making me yawn thinking about it. I think me needs a day off. Last time we both had a milking off was....Saturday July 25. Kurt mentions going away. Like the both of us but I am not sure how or when that will happen. He said something about when things settle down.









I am feeding six calves milk. They drain the life out of me. No, it's not that bad. I think I am being overly dramatic now. Poor Meghan. Since I feel I have not been too social lately I will tell you their names. IBNawty (I Be Naughty) the first baby born Aug 28, Lily Sept 4, Mania Sept 14 (or 16), I-SIS (not sure how to spell it but Mac named her), Mint, and a calf who was born Friday who's name is Shake. There are two more calves to be born this month and I believe about seven more before the end of the year. We feed our calves milk for two months which makes the feeding a little more involved.



I am also going back to my old job at the coop where I ran the grain office of a satellite location. It's a seasonal job and hopefully I should make some money. It is always about the money. Currently I am in limbo. It is a place I do not like to be. I do not know when I am starting which means I basically have to be prepared to start at a moments notice. So mentally my mind went about two weeks ago. The last week and half I have finally gotten with it and accomplished a few tasks. I have a few things I would like to have done before starting...bookwork, filing done, paperwork for a loan, hemming Mac's jeans (2 of the 3 are done), getting the house cleaned up for fall, and making a stockpile of baked goods for my husband. Another thing about the sewing machine. I bought it last year and am slowing getting the hang of it. I think the more I do on my own the less frightening it will be. Genius. We also have the heat on. It was 60 degrees in here last week. We turned it up to 64 and the other day I got crazy and turned it up to 66. But it is back down to 64 because I got a little too warm. : ) I better go make some chocolate chip bars and puppy chow during the game.

Go Pack GO!

Menu Plan Monday

Believe it or not, but the last time I posted for MPM was August 31! I have been busy. You believe me right. Well I will fill you in with another post today. I really need to get my menu put out because I have been in a rut the past couple of weeks. When I say rut, I mean it takes me until Thursday to get in the groove of things around here. More on that later. This will just be a list of meals not specifically assigned to a day.

Swiss Steak, mashed potatoes, corn

Tacos

One Dish Supper

Chili Supper at church with ham and grill cheese sandwhiches and desserts

Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole

Smoked sausage, saurkraut, potatoes, green beans

More menus at MPM

I'm Here

I have been a bit preoccupied. Two weeks since my last post...not good. I need to get a new battery for my camera which obviously cuts down on the amount of pictures I take. Which equals my post quantity dwindling down to nothing. The weekend before I had a rummage sale. The garage is just finally back in order. My father-in-law can now park in the garage when he comes. Old habits die hard. I think that drove him nuts that he couldn't park in there when he was here for a couple of hours.



Does anyone else have a child that hides food or the wrappers from food? Last night she threw a granola bar wrapper behind the TV stand. Unless we have a ghost she had food all over the living room last night when I came in at 11pm. My husband was in the shower and tried to wake my little darling from a dead sleep to make her pick it up. Oh I was so irritated. It was like she took half the box of Lucky Charms and dumped them all over the carpet. It's shag carpeting...no lie. Plus she has a box of beads to make bracelets and necklaces and a good handful of them were in the carpet as well. I don't get it. I don't take my food and throw it all over and hide candy bar wrappers under the recliner. Then I saw a tube of Go-gurt empty on the floor in front of the chair. I'm done buying that stuff. I am just a wee bit frustrated with her.



Kurt is out in the barn pulling a calf. I am feeding five heifer calves right now. He's back in and she had a bull calf. That is okay by me. As long as I get a good price for him, when we sell him on Monday. I have been saving my bull calf money for Christmas. $42 so far. If I get that much or more for each calf, I should be okay.



I better go get some bills paid. Maybe tomorrow I will be someone where I can buy a camera battery. I'll try and get back on track.

Why My Camera Batteries Don't Last

Reason 1-Elmo from Build-a-Bear

Reason 2-Modelling the Build-a-Bears

Reason 3-An actual bear from Build-a-Bear...dressed.

Reason 4-A naked bunny from Build-a-Bear...these were accumulated over her seven-year existence and I only bought one. Her godmother Heidi spoiled her with the rest.

Hello, I hijacked my mom's camera and take ridiculous pictures of my animals and the TV...you don't even want to go there.

Back to School

School started on Tuesday and like usual on the first day, Little Miss was happy and excited. She was ready to go wait for the bus 40 minutes before her pickup time. How I wish all mornings were like this.

At seven years old, she is a moody little girl. The last two days were awful getting her out the door. My head is starting to hurt thinking about it. For Kurt, it is a completely different story. She purrs like a kitten for him.

Yesterday she told me I don't need you coming out to wait for the bus with me. Fine. I had to water the heifers that were out front anyway so I could see her. Today they do not have school not sure why. We have a load of hay to go get so she should be thrilled to death or not.

This is Elvis. He and his brother Elmer accompanied us to the end of the driveway last year on the first day of school when they were just kittens. The little rascals ran across the road into the ditch too. So I stood waiting for the bus last year with two little orange bundles under each arm. Only Elvis came this year and tried to climb up my leg. I ended up holding him while waiting for the bus, again. Yes, if you are looking at my chubby hands I still have baby dimples and I am 29. I was nine, in church and some lady said to me, "Oh, baby dimples how cute." 20 years later I am still chunky. Obviously I never lost the baby fat which makes me real cute like baby cute. Just smile and nod.

Happy first day of school. Too bad they couldn't be all first days.

Menu Plan Monday

We are experiencing some rather chilly temperatures here in WI. A cool 40 degrees this morning. I almost put a headband (to go around my ears) on before I went out to the barn. Tomorrow is the first day of school somehow I feel unprepared. I'm not sure why. Most of my responsibilities end at the driveway once she is on the bus. Today we go bring her supplies in and meet her teacher who is a man. I never had a male for a teacher until I was in sixth grade. Except for gym and art teachers I had all female elementary teachers and there was only one male fifth grade teacher. So here goes nothing!



Monday-Milwaukee style pork chops


Tuesday-Taco stacks/pizzas


Wednesday-Hotdogs, we are going to a classification party (in a barn so there will be food)


Thursday-Kurt's birthday beef tips over noodles


Friday-Chicken stir fry (from last week)


Saturday-Hamburgers and sweet corn

Its Golden

29 years ago today on a hot, humid (I don't know what the weather was but my mom claims it was the hottest summer in her life) Thursday of Labor Day weekend I made my entrance into the world. Which makes today my Golden Birthday. You have no idea how grand of a day I always thought it would be. Also how long I thought it would take to get to my Golden birthday. 29 seemed so far away. Geez I remember turning 20 and thinking darn I'm not a teenager anymore. 21 and pregnant. 22 and thinking I had lived quite the life already. 23, 24 were the same too. Then I hit 25. Wow, life had changed. I was going through a divorce. I never thought I would be one of "those people" who got a divorce. I will say that was not my choice but when your spouse cheats on you and impregnants married females (ladies nor women would describe these types of the female variety) it is over. That was my life three months before my 25 birthday. Eight days after my birthday my life would be forever changed again. I met Kurt. I trust him and know that if he forgets to buy me a card on birthday it does not match the ugliness and hatred of divorce not even close. Kurt did remember my birthday not that he should forget because his is five days later.

29 did not seem so far away and yet this picture from the Summer of 2003 seems light years ago. My little girl is not a baby anymore. Life moves fast if you don't stop and look around you might just miss it. (GREAT MOVIE) I hope my daughter has appreciation for comedies like I do. I hope she appreciates the people in her life when she is older and see where she has come from. I can be the typical mom too and say I hope she doesn't make the same mistakes I did.
I hope she has a kind heart like this always because she is one of my best gifts. Thanks for the package of Oreos and the cartoon picture of a buttcrack on my birthday card making a "wisecrack" about my age. You are a funny kid and you make me laugh. Please stay seven forever for me!

Not Your Quaker Oats

Here goes my father-in-law driving the swather.

Picture far away sorry...there is a large reel on the front that cuts the oats at the stem and lays them in a pretty row. This allows them to be combined which is how we harvest oats.

See the big reel. It is a dirty, dirty job driving the swather. Oats are also very itchy. I can not explain it. But it is one of the reason why I did not go traipsing across the rows, for a closer shot. Me lazy girl. Smart girl too.

Corner where you can see the rows going around the field.

Oats up close and personal before they are combined. They are still in there thin layer of husk. How rustic. This is where your oatmeal use to come from and maybe some still does.

A neighbor of ours bought some of our oats right off the field. It is cheaper for someone to buy directly from the producer than a feed mill for example.

Good for us because the price the feedmill was willing to pay us had gone down by 60 cents. That might not sound like a lot but I was very thankful our neighbor bought two big loads from us.


Kurt had to make sure he could fit in another load before going out to the field for another.

He eventually had to get a shovel to even out the load. If I remember, we still had some oats run over the one side. That poor guy needs a vacation. He works hard for his money. We are happy to be done with our oats. I'll also add. After the combine goes over the oats, the stem is still left laying on the field. We take our chopper and chopper box and chop the straw. We use it for bedding our cows and young stock. Kurt was able to chop 17 loads off of 20 acres. AWESOME! Last year we had to buy two loads which was expensive. Our chopped straw goes in the upstairs of our barn. It is divided into four sections. There are two hay mows, a shavings (sawdust) mow, and a chopped straw mow. Kurt had the straw mow filled as high as it could be filled. It was not completely empty from last year so we did good.

Not your Quaker oats you ask? Quaker is buying more Canadian oats because they are a heavier oat due to Canada's cooler climate. Booo that is partly why the price has dropped. Too much oats out there already. Last year I (yes, it was me. I did do it) sold it for 2.40 more than what we will get paid for it currently. Last year was a different year, but Quaker still sucks.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday-We are going to a cattle sale...brats and hamburgers for us.

Tuesday-Sweet corn and sandwhiches

Wednesday-Tacos or nachos

Thursday-Chicken stirfry

Friday-Homemade pizza or food from the deli

Saturday-Chicken cordon bleu (from last week), oven-fries, veggie, and salad

Like I said (many times before), I have 16 cups of frozen zucchini. I have been trying to make something every couple days or atleast once a week. Last week I made zucchini cupcakes with caramel frosting. My daughter who loves sugar was not keen on the frosting. Either way they are an excellent way to use bountiful zucchini that may grace your garden or doorsteps. Saturday night I made a chocolate zucchini cake from a combination of two recipes. I will share this with you later in the week. I have to get moving. I have to get some gas in my car and maybe do a little housework. Happy, happy, joy, joy!!!!

Happy Monday!

Where does she come up with this stuff?

Yesterday my daughter was telling me about my mom's dog Chloe. She said whenever I smile at Chloe, she pees. She said it so seriously that I did not laugh but thought whatever you say strange child-of-mine.

Another day we were talking about a picture that I took of her and a calf for a Christmas card a few years ago. She thought maybe she would like to take another pic like that. There is a calf outside who is one of her favorites because she is red and white. I told her it would have to be one of the new babies born because the red calf is dirty from being outside. Well she told me she could clean the calf up but not with her mouth. Baby calves are licked clean by their moms at birth. I am guessing that is where she came up with not cleaning the calf with her mouth.

Go Vikes?

My beloved Brett Favre. I was sad when you wanted to retire. I knew you had more years to give the Green and Gold. Then you changed your mind. I was so happy. It was like a nice wedding present since this was a few days before my wedding. I know I did not register for this gift, but oh what a precious gift it was. Until that walking-Q-Tip of a general manager big Ted said it was over. Meanie. I knew I never liked him. You went to the Jets and I was so excited to watch you play that first Sunday. Still wearing green but near the big apple not the frozen trunda. We were okay with that. At the end of the season you were not sure whether you were coming back or not. I was so shocked. You had not made a decision in regards to your future. Brett, don't leave us hanging here we love you man!

Two days ago, Brett was officially a Viking. I almost threw up in my mouth. Do I need to say more? I went to college (did not graduate) an hour from the Cities. It was half and half Wisconsin and Minnesota students. We were ten minutes from the border. Oh I miss that area. I do not miss being that close to Viking fans. I went to their website and saw these pictures. Hopefully it is not illegal to borrow a few pics.

Here is my new leader of the Pack. Go Packers.