Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Chickens Have Left the Building

We finally moved the chickens out into their coop last night. It's still not 100% done, but it's done enough they can go out there. Thank goodness! I wasn't too fond of waking up to the aroma of chicken manure in the morning. My garden might love it, but I certainly don't! Haha!

We still have to touch up the paint and get some weather stripping to help hold the heat in better, but they spent the first night out there as it is, and are doing just fine. Last night was freezing, so I was a little worried about the transition. The chicks are fully feathered, as they are all six weeks old now, so we figured that with the heat lamp on out there, they'd be fine. We were right.

Painting turned out to be quite the trial. Saturday started out nice enough and hubby was able to finish up the inside before getting started on the painting in the afternoon. I went out to help him, but had to come back inside to bundle up because the wind was bitterly cold!




We were making great progress, but before we could finish the rain started, then quickly turned to snow.

Thankfully it all melted pretty quickly and we were able to get the doors on and get it ready for the chickens' big move.



We filled up the feeders and waterers after getting the heat lamp installed out there. We've got it plugged in to a Honeywell Winter Watchman, which will turn the lamp on and off according to the temperature. Where they are so young and coming from a temperature of 68 degrees, we set it to come on when it falls below 60 degrees. Which basically means it will stay on constantly for now...


So now all that's left is the minor touch ups here and there. We took the chicks out in a box and put them in their new home.


So far so good. This has all been quite a learning experience, but one we've been thoroughly enjoying. We can't wait until we start getting some eggs! Of course, that won't be for a few months yet. We figure it will be about August. Still, we're one step closer on that path to being self-sufficient.

Trading Satellite for Netflix


So most of you know by now that saving money has been my main mission in life, especially since the economy tanked a few years ago. We've managed to keep our satellite service with Dish Network for years now, and I have to say that we are still happy with it.

We've downgraded our service quite a bit in the last two years and they've given us plenty of discounts too on top of that. We have two dual-tuner DVRs in our house and subscribe to the Dish Family package with our locals. It's a total of about 50 or so channels, and most of them are pretty good. We get channels like Nick Jr., Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Hallmark and several others that our family really likes. Still, even with the discounts, because of our two DVRs, we are putting out about $40 a month.

We were thinking of completely getting rid of the satellite (no small thing when you realize we've had a DVR for about 10 years now) and saving that money. We've heard good things about Netflix, and were told that for about $8 a month we can download unlimited content to our computer, Xbox or Wii. For a few dollars more you can also get DVDs sent to your door.

We're big movie fans. We don't do the pay-per-view though, unless they give us the free certificates for them (which does happen now and then). If it's not a movie we're sure we want to buy, then we usually get it from Redbox. So really, the idea of having new movies so readily available to us sounds great. But I'm wondering if there's a downside?

Have any of you subscribed to Netflix? What can I expect to find if we make this jump? I've heard we can download stuff to our laptop and then hook it up to our TV to watch it on the bigger screen. That would be great, since it would mean that we could still watch our favorite TV shows off the TV station websites. Am I right? Or is it more complicated than that?

Anyway, if we go ahead and do this (and we're about 80% sure we will right now), it would mean a savings of over $30 a month. It might not seem like a lot to some people, but for a family of seven, saving any amount of money is a big plus! They do have a free trial, so I guess we'd have nothing to lose on trying it.

So what do you think? Does it sound like a good idea?

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Building that Coop!

Hubby has been soooooooooooo busy these last several weeks building the chicken coop. It's crazy how big this has turned out to be. He's doing a great job though, with minimal help from me. I only help with the heavy lifting when he asks. In my defense though, I have little-to-no building skills. Haha!

I though some of you would like to see how this has been progressing, so here are some pics:

This is the wall with the main door:


Here is the window wall:


Here's the floor or platform of the coop:


He just got the trusses up after putting all the walls together:


Here's the wall where we'll have four doors that access the back
of the nesting boxes so we can gather the eggs.


Here's a view of the front when he got it ready for the shingles:


And here it is with the roof on. Still a lot of work to go, but it already looks great!


We've still got to do the inside (roosting rods, nest boxes, more trim on the outside and painting to do--oh yeah and then there's the chicken yard), but my hubby has accomplished a lot! I can't wait for it to be finished so we can move the chickens out there. They're a month old and that brooder he built for them is getting way too small.

If' you're interested in finding out more about what we've learned about the chicken process so far, I've written several articles on Hubpages:

What to Know Before Getting Chicks or Chickens
Supplies to Get for Your Baby Chicks
Raising Chickens for Beginners Part 1

No regrets on our part at this point. I'm really looking forward to this whole adventure!

Friday, March 4, 2011

We're Going to Watch Hockey Tonight!

Our kids are so excited, and I have to admit I'm looking forward to it too. Tonight we're going to watch the Grizzlies as a family with our good friends and neighbors. The best part is we don't have to pay a cent for any of our tickets, though we do have to get there early to make sure we get them.

We got free entrance to a few Griz games, Real Salt Lake soccer Games, Utah Blaze football games and Rocky Mountain Raceway too. We also got a season pass for each of us for Seven Peaks Water Resort. Normally we don't do things like this because it's too expensive for all of us. But we decided to go ahead and jump on the deal when it came up on Groupon for the Salt Lake County Pass of All Passes for about $40 each.

I'm not telling you this to rub it in. I just found out that City Deals is offering it too! So if you want to get in on the family fun for a great price, I'd jump on this deal before it's gone.

Utah county has a similar deal going too. You can find it here.

As for us, we're going to go enjoy some good fighting...er, I mean playing tonight. I've only been once before, but I really had a great time. It was exciting, interesting and very entertaining. So if you haven't gotten your passes yet, jump on it now before they're gone!

Friday, February 18, 2011

We're Getting Chickens!

I'm sure I've mentioned here before that we've been working to become more self-sufficient. We started canning and preserving a few years ago (easy, fun and so delicious). But we've decided we can do more than grow fruit trees and plant a garden. So.....we've decided to get some chickens.

We have a huge yard (almost half an acre), our house is in a residential agriculture zone so we don't have to pay for any permits. We only have to make sure we stay within the allowed number of chickens for our lot size (probably about 12) and we have to build their coop at least 50 feet away from any structure. No problem!

We did some online research and then we got a book: Raising Chickens For Dummies from Amazon. Right now we're trying to decide what breed of chickens we want. We know we don't want any roosters (I'm sure the neighbors wouldn't like that much, especially since they already get annoyed by our rebellious and overly energetic dog--who's nearly 8 but still acts like a puppy). We'll probably go for the chicks, but that will mean waiting several months before getting any eggs.

At best, we'll get more eggs than we need and sell the extra to neighbors, all the while decreasing the amount of those pesky squash bugs and other pests in our yard (which will be eaten up by prowling chickens). At worst, this will all be a great learning experience--whatever the outcome--for us and our children. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! I hope....

Hubby is building a coop this weekend based on the information we've gathered from our research thus far. It's all very exciting. We'll see how it all works out though. I'll be sure to keep you all updated!

Getting Back to Life

So I decided, after several weeks of moping about and being decidely unlike myself, that it was time I realize all the blessings I have and move forward with my life. It's amazing how, once you decide that you need to move on, and then tell yourself that life is good, how it actually really does change your perspective and mood! Positive thinking really is a powerful thing, and I just confirmed what I already knew, but had momentarily forgotten :)

It's good that I remembered it too, because these last weeks have been trying, to say the least! I won't go into the family drama (extended family), but I'm sure everyone knows how stressful life can be after a death. There's a lot of adjustment and the whole greiving process that everyone goes through in their own way.

We've had influenza here (bad idea on skipping those flu shots this year!) and a multitude of other illnesses, several of which our sweet baby girl has fallen victim to. We had a week of no sleep, and she got her first taste of antibiotics after her respiratory infection gave her a nasty ear infection. She's finally sleeping again now, so hopefully we can get her immunity built up.

Every week for the last month I've had someone home from school because of being sick. Yuck! Where's that Immune Fizz when you need it (a drink we used to buy, but haven't been able to get for a while)? And I can't believe how much homework there is for each day a kid misses! Yikes! I had to send my son back to school while he was still sick or he'd have never caught up. His grades still haven't all recovered. That's okay though, because I know he's still the smart and responsible kid he was before he missed two days of school.

Anyway, through the trials of being sick and losing loved ones and the others stressors that come with life, I've had to try harder to see all of the many things that we've been blessed with. I have a great husband who loves me and I love him. I have five beautiful, mostly healthy and very good (though not perfect, by any means haha) children. We get to stay in our home after a successful loan modification. My husband still has a job, when so many others have lost theirs. We have good friends who are always there when we need them most. We have God in our lives.

I'm sure I must sound mushy about now, but I have to say that even with the trials our family has been going through, I still have so many more good, compared to bad. It can be hard to remember that when the other stuff in life becomes overwhelming. I just have to keep in mind that saying, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans," and make sure that my plans stay flexible! I'm also counting on the belief that our trials only make us stronger. So watch out world, because I'm really getting a workout! But I'm sure I'm not the only one :)

I know a lot of people out there are going through much worse right now. My only advice to those people is to try to stay positive, be strong, ask for help if you can't do it alone, have faith and the rest will follow.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Hard Times


Just when I was actually doing better than I have in a long time in keeping up here, I got the wind knocked right out of me. My stepfather, Stub, died a few weeks ago. It was something I saw coming in the weeks before, but really it all happened so fast. In September he was sitting in my kitchen eating the salsa I'd made and laughing with me over this and that. Then in the following months he lost his ability to drive, then walk, and even, in the very end, his ability to talk.

I know that death is a part of life. I also believe that he has gone to a better place where he can again do all those things that he'd been unable to during his last days on earth. I know that it's only those who have been left behind that are having a hard time with this. But it's still difficult nonetheless to realize that I can't just pick up the phone and get him on the other side of it anymore.

I have to remember though that I truly have been blessed to have him be a part of my life. In fact, I've come to realize while reflecting on all of this that I've been twice blessed in such a way. You see, my biological father was never a part of my life. The first man I called "Daddy" was my sister's father. He had the most beautiful heart and opened his arms to me when I was just a baby. Despite his turbulent relationship with my mother he always kept his arms open to me, as if I really were his natural daughter. He was an alcoholic though, and didn't care as much for himself as he did for his children. He died almost exactly 15 years ago. He was the fun one. Easy-going to a fault and open-hearted to the end. He was what I needed as a young girl to feel wanted, loved and accepted.

I wrote this for him: Forgive Me, Daddy

And then there was Stub. He was opposite in nearly every way. With the exception of whole-heartedly accepting another man's child as his own. He was responsible, hard-working, stable...he was a rock. He helped to show me what a father's role was. He helped to guide me the right way on the path to womanhood.

I wrote these for him: Shadow Of a Man and Mourning a Loved-One's Passing

Both these men filled a role I needed at the time I most needed it. Both have inspired me in different ways. Both are gone now. I am now truly without a father. But I can't leave it at that. It would devalue the lasting impression they've left with me. I have to think of the immeasurable gifts they gave me before they left this world.

I hope I haven't confused you all with my rambling thoughts here. My history is hard to follow, I know, but it has shaped me to be who I am today--and so I can't say that I'd change it. Everything happens for a reason. And I guess it's time I remember that and do my best to move forward.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

More Free magazine subscriptions from ValueMags!

ValueMags is offering two magazine copies to Family Circle for January and February issues again. Jump on it fast or you'll miss out. On top of that, they also have a few other magazines to choose from, such as:  Bridal Guide, Sport Fishing, Yachting, Backpacker digital, and Yoga Journal digital. These are all no cost, no obligation offers so be sure to check them out.

The Inside Scoop on Those Credit Cards

Did you know that according to CreditCards.com 98% of the revolving debt (which is well over 800 billion dollars) is from credit cards? While the amount of debt carried by the average American family might be surprising, the fact that most households utilize credit cards is common knowledge, and I'm no exception.

If you've wondered how credit cards can affect your credit rating, then I've got the perfect article for you. If you've found yourself in over your head with credit card debt, then that makes this article even more perfect for you. If you're ready to become more financially fit then read my article on HubPages: The Truth about Credit Cards.

Getting a handle on credit card debt and taking control of your credit score would be a perfect New Year's Resolution! Good luck to all of you who have this goal in mind.

Time for a New Year!

Yes, it's that time again. It's the time of year when we promise ourselves we're going to be thinner, stronger, healthier, smarter, kinder, richer and just plain better! I'm no different than anyone else when it comes to making those resolutions. Some of them I've been successful at keeping, others get lost by the wayside when I just can't figure out how to fit them into my day-to-day activities. So what does that say about me? Perhaps that I need a better schedule than the fly-by-the-seat of my pants one I've gotten so used to! Hmmmm...was that a resolution?

Any good resolution starts with a thought or idea. Whether or not you're successful at keeping that resolution you set depends a lot on what you tell yourself about the importance of that goal and what you're able and willng to do to acheive it. So, the more positive you are in your thinking, the more likely you are to accomplish what you want. Are you ready to Change Your Life with Postive Thinking? If so, be sure to check out my article about it on HubPages!

If you're looking for some ideas for good resolutions this year and tips on how to achieve them, I've got another great article for you: Why Do We Make New Year's Resolutions?

I'm ready to improve my life! How about you?