Chickens

I have wanted backyard chickens for a long time. I really want access to cheap, extra nutritious eggs. Yesterday a friend of mine brought over some of her dad's chicks to let her mom friends take pictures of with the kids. All was going well until my son and his big new rain boots stepped on one of the chicks and killed it. He did not seem to notice despite me trying to make him understand but I was totally traumatized.

I was however renewed in my effort to get some chickens (full grown ones) for our own yard. I know that my city lets people have up to 6 chickens, no roosters. So I set to work trying to figure out if it would save our egg eating family to have chickens. In the past I have heard both that having your own chickens saves you money and that it does not. So I looked for the best deals on coops on Craigslist and found a deal where you get five, 6 month old chickens, a coop and everything the chickens need for $300. That seems to be a good deal. Then I looked at what feed would cost for 5 chickens. About $16 a bag and we would need one bag a month. This alone is more then we spend on eggs in one month (about $10), even if we bought all organic, cage free eggs. That does not even take in to consideration the start up costs, possible vet costs, and lack of egg laying in the Winter.

So there goes that dream. While I could look at them as pets, I have a firm rule against introducing anything else in my life to take care of unless it gives me some value. And by value I do not mean something nebulous and undefinable, I mean saves me money.

First Cheese

Last week I attempted my first cheese. I used the 1 gallon Farmers Cheese recipe from the website I posted. I warmed up my milk and added the yogurt and let it sit all night. In the morning I warmed up the milk and added the Rennet and then waited, and waited, and waited some more. No clean break. I began to suspect that I let the milk sit to long before adding the rennet.

I was eager to try again so this time I warmed the milk, added the yogurt and only let it sit for 3 hours before adding the rennet. Nothing happened. I did not even get a messy kind of break. Nothing, it still looked like milk. I decided to warm it up an make something else with it. When I came back to check on the milk it was firming up just like it was supposed too! I kept it warm and followed the rest of the directions and put the curd in to my homemade cheese press (also found on the website). I let it press all night and then took it out and wrapped it in a handkerchief that I had boiled to serialize and put it in the fridge.

This is the hardest part, waiting. I can't help but check on my cheese all the time. I really try not to but I can't help it. It seems to be drying just like it is supposed to. When it is dry I will wax it and wait some more. The sad part is that I will not know if I got it right for a few more weeks!

First Yogurt

I did it! I made my fist batch of yogurt. All kinds of things went wrong but the yogurt still turned out just fine. I used the cheap 2% milk found a my normal grocery store. I used a candy thermometer that I already had. A normal pot and 8 oz canning jars. I used the half gallon recipe because I did not want to waste a whole gallon of milk if I did it wrong.

Most of the cooking went fine except that the milk scorched on the bottom of the pan but I just did not scrape it and the yogurt tasted normal. I tried to pour the milk in to the jars from the pan but ended up getting it everywhere. I put the milk in to a pitcher and had much better luck. Then I had more milk then jars so I had to use a clean spaghetti sauce jar. Then there was not enough room in the cooler for the big jar. Lucky for me, I found a very fat thermos that worked just as well. Then I fell asleep and let the yogurt sit for longer then 3 hours. At 3:30 am I tip toed down stairs and looked at my yogurt. It was solid! I had done it! I put the yogurt in the fridge and went back to bed. Then next morning I served it to the kids with honey in it. They loved it.

Yogurt and Cheese

According to my husband I have finally gone off the deep end. The other day I was listening to Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbra Kingsolver (with our MP3 player that we got for free) and I heard her talking about making cheese. I love cheese. I like it just as much as chocolate. My mom and I even go to a free monthly cheese class at a high class market in our city just to hear about and taste different cheeses. I always assumed that cheese making was super hard and never something I could do in a cost effective way. But to hear Ms. Kingsolver talk about it, it really is not that difficult. So I looked in to it and it turns out she is right. It is not that hard. I even found this great website where the author is committed to making cheese, yogurt and other things using all stuff you would find at a normal grocery store or already in your home.

I was so excited. Husband thought I was so crazy. Why? was all he could say. Because it is cheaper, better for you (no weird additives) and because I can. I love to cook and I also love a good challenge. Besides wouldn't it be way cooler to give cheese at Christmas instead of cookies?

Here is the website I will be using to make yogurt and cheese with -

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese_course/Cheese_course.htm

He even has nice pictures for every step.

Holiday Burnout

It is just a few days away from Christmas and I find it really hard to get excited this year. I feel like I have put in way to much work for this holiday and it has left me wondering "Is it really worth it?". It seems that the mom always get stuck with the holiday chores. It is my job to get all gifts for my husbands family, my own, the kids, wrap them, distribute them, figure out what to put in stockings, what to eat on the big day, fill out and mail cards and packages, get the business cards picked out and mailed and so on. I will admit that I used to enjoy this so I took it upon myself but now that I have two very young children, and a business to help run, I want to step back. I don't want to do everything. I don't even want to do half of it. This years holiday work has resulted in some bitterness on my part. I will admit to reading cards sent to us, smiling and then throwing the picture-less ones away just because I don't want them cluttering up my bar. I have no interest in getting the kids pictures done with Santa or doing any holiday activities that require any waiting in line. So my goal for the new year is to figure out how to step back and not spend so much time on the holidays. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Black Friday Deals!

On this lovely snowy Thanksgiving I am busy cooking a turkey that myself, my children and my mom will not be eating. We only eat fish meat so we will be having lobster (the suffering we go through!) for our Thanksgiving dinner but I still cook a turkey for my sister, husband and my cousin. We have so much to be thankful for this year! Our business, our family, our health and of course SALES! My favorite sale on Black Friday and the only one I will be going to this year is the Goodwill sale. Most of the country's Goodwill stores have a almost everything 50% off for Black Friday and the day after. Some do it for the whole three day weekend. They will be opening an hour early at 8am. Goodwill does not really do a good job of advertising this so I thought I would post about it. I only found it by accident one year when I happened in to one as a last minute decision.

I love Goodwill. If you have more time then money or just want a good deal it is the place for you. It takes time to look through things there but it is well worth it. I love to get my son like new books for $1 or less, baking-were, and clothing for myself and my hubby. I remember finding a Boppy with a cover there for $2, new they cost $40. The only thing that I would not bother with would be the baby clothing. Everyone takes their nice clothing to the used kids stuff stores like Once Upon A Child to get money. I also like that I am not buying new stuff and therefore helping to keep things out of the landfill. Save money and the planet, a double win!

Drinking the Cool-aid

Well I am not one to jump on bandwagons but I am about to "drink the Cool-aid" so to speak. I am in the planing stages of starting Dave Ramsey's 7 steps. Just recently, I was at the library picking up some books I had ordered and Dave Ramsey's book Total Money Makeover was sitting on counter. I started to flip through it and saw a clip about a couple making $30,000 a year that did his program. I decided to get it right there. It was free right?

Our family does not have massive debt but we did just start a business so we have some. Even before reading the book, we had decided to sell the riding mower we bought to get rid of the payment. We have gotten out of debt before but something always comes up (usually emergencies but not always) and we end up back in. Once you are in a little, it is so easy to get in a little more for something that is not an emergency.

Dave Ramsey's plan is simple and seemed to fit my family. We don't have a high income or huge credit card debt. I am a stay at home mom and it is important to us that I stay one. I don't like how many other financial gurus answer is just for the mom to get a job outside the home. That will not work for us. I also don't like how many plans seem targeted at higher earners then we are. Dave's plan made it seem possible to get rich with out having to make more money. Another thing is that no one seems to speak to the self employed. We don't have access to a 401k so I don't care to hear about it as the be all and end all thing. Dave has worksheets in the back with alternatives for those that are self employed. The last thing is that Dave's plan addresses people's real behavior. I am a very cheap person. I am capable of having a credit card sit in my wallet unused for years. My husband, bless him, is not. He is not the type to get in to debt on small things but when he wanted to start a business, he just went out and charged it. I needed a plan that would convince and reward him enough that he would stick with it. So here I am, about to take the first step to a credit free life. Wish me good luck!