so I've been kinda busy...

or maybe I've just been kinda lazy. Or I just don't really know how to organize the duties of my life right. Sad to say, i'm leaning towards the latter. Which means I'm sure I'll be having a lovely learning experience about that all too soon. I'm always so happy after these kind of experiences. And if I ever had the chance to do one over again I would. But, getting through the learning experience is usually not very fun. Darn growing pains.

I've done alot of growing in my life. I like to think about who I used to be and who I am now. And make comparisons. It helps me feel good about those un-fun learning experiences. Hmmm, its kinda funny cause I really don't like change. When ever something drastically changes in my life it throws everything out of whack, and I'm stuck doing damage control. But once all the pieces have been picked up and rearranged to work again, its always something to feel good about. Really good about. It just takes a while to get there. And then of course its after that that the next big change comes along, messing it all up again. My dad once told me "change is one of the few things in the universe that never changes". Kind of ironic isn't it?

I think thats why its so important to "be of good cheer". Because life is never going to stop throwing stuff at you and if you only choose to be happy during those brief periods of respite, that makes for alot of time being unhappy. Of course just learning to do that can be a challenge in and of itself- to be happy during hard times. Its a lesson I'm feel like I'll be trying to learn all my life.

But anyways, what I really wanted to write about here was all the things I've been up to since I abandoned my blog. my grass is growing. I've learned that if you want nice bermuda grass that cutting it really short is the way to go cause its only the very top bit that stays green anyway. My raspberry plants look dead. I shaded their leaves, but I'm thinking they died cause the dirt and their roots heated up too much. Rial wasn't very happy to learn that. Our bathrooms a mess cause we tore out the old shower and are building a new one. We moved the sink over 5 inches, yipee! The rest of our roosters were killed last saturday morning. Oh yeah, and we got 4 more hens a few months ago- 2 easter eggers and 2 barred rocks. I love the barred rocks, they are so soft and fluffy. But when we were plucking the roosters we found a few louse. Ewwwwwww. so gross. So thats one more thing on my to-do list. Still no eggs, but hopefully in a week or two the oldest hens will start laying (there are 6 total now- russette, black cap, glenda, elfeba, chex and bandit). And I passed my last semester, fheww! What a trial that was. But I am so glad I passed. It was all thanks to Heavenly Father. I never, ever could have made it through all that from the last three months with out Him. Its a really long story and it makes me feel exhausted just thinking about it.

So now that I've repented and am trying to change my ways, hopefully I'll be writing soon.

meet strider and cloud

I called him cloud cause he had little white patches on his wings when he was a chick.


And you can see here, strider is sporting the lovely feathered feet that make me think of him as a cowboy. It was such a shame they turned out to be roosters, they are such beautiful birds. I've decided my flock is a welsummer mix. Its the only breed that almost matches perfectly.
_
I had been hoping for sometime now that I would have some lovely hens in my batch of chicks, and as it turns out I do- russette and blackcap are little girls. But as for the rest its only been a matter of time.
_
A week ago they started crowing.
_
But since Rial and I are up before 7:00 am when it starts, we didn't mind it so much. But I can't say the same for our neighbors. I haven't heard a complain, but I know I would grumble and whine about it everyday if it had been affecting my sleep pattern.
_
And so today we decided to have some capon for dinner. Strider and Cloud were picked cause they're the biggest, the loudest, and they've started picking on beautrice (my favorite rooster of the bunch).
_
Lucky for us, Rial and I have both been on pioneer treks and we've seen the butchering of a chicken in action.
_
First we hung them up by their feet (if you let them run about without their heads they taste more gamey). Then we got a pot of water boiling (outside). Then we found a knife and cut the heads super quick. After they stopped flapping we dunk them in the water to loosen the feathers, and got started plucking them and gutting them (which was easier than I thought).

Smile for the camera boys!
I've never killed an animal before and I was really nervous thinking about it last week. Because I love animals. I even wanted to be a veterinarian when I was eight. And seeing as I balled my eyes out for 2 hours straight when my pet cat buck died 4 years ago, I thought I would cry at least once. But I didn't. I didn't even feel bad for sending cloud and strider on their ways. It really felt kind of natural to do it, like growing a garden. And after we got them all cleaned up, I was really looking forward to letting them sit in some mesquite marinade so we could have a nice home cook meal tonight.
_
It makes me think about the movie Food Inc. which is an awesome movie, please see it if you haven't. Its so crazy to think how disconnected our society is from the food we eat. I mean, for all we know our eggs, milk, fruit, veggies, meats- they just magically replicate themselves on the grocery store shelf after being bought and consumed. It is positively alarming to think just how little we know about what happens to our food before we bring it home to eat. And since I've watched Food Inc. I've been more selective about the items I purchase to eat, and I've decided to grow as much of my own food as I can. Not just because of my moral compass, but because EVERTHING seems to taste 10 times better the closer it is to home grown. Tomatoes are such a great example of this. And organic milk is soooooo worth the extra $1.50 to me. It just tastes so good!

Seriously?

Ice cream sandwiches are supposed to be the ultimate cheap dairy treat. Or maybe I just have too high of expectations for a $1.50. Last week I wanted something yummy and for some reason walking down the street in the heat of the day and coming back home eating an ice cream sandwich sounded delightful. So I decided to walk to the grocery store and buy some, but once I got to the frozen foods section I, well, froze.

I checked and double checked every brand of ice cream sandwich. Nothing was below $2.50. And yeah sure, its only a dollar more than I expected, but when I thought of it as being 60% more expensive than it ought to be, I just couldn't do it. I stood there for at least 15 minutes trying to make up my mind to just give in to my craving or be responsible with my money. The popsicles were cheap after all. But the only good ones, the fruit bars, were not. And that got me thinking. Why pay good money on overpriced frozen treats, when I could just make my own?

So I left the frozen food section and traveled over to the kitchen stuff section. And I found just what I wanted, a 4-sicle popsicle maker, with reusable popsicle sticks. It cost me $3.15, but it was worth it, even though my dream of walking home in the heat of the summer with a frozen treat was not to be.

Isn't it ironic that $3.15 for no-ice-cream-sandwiches is more than double the maximum price of what I would be willing to pay for 6 ice cream sandwiches. And yet, I feel my money acted responsibly, and given the choice, I'd probably do it again.

who knew?

In addition to several green tomatoes, zuchinni, and squash, we now have beets! Though I had never in my entire life (or Rial's) ever tasted a beet before, I had some seeds last february, and a little space, so I planted them. I thought, well, if for some reason they're just not my cup of tea, I'll give them to someone I know that loves them.

Last night I cooked my first one in a plastic bowl with some salt water in the microwave for about 6-7 minutes. For all the experiences I've had with microwaving things, there are few that make the top list. The fork, varies bugs (though technically that was my brothers), marshmellows, and now beets. Beets are really neat cause its an art project and a side dish all in one.

Besides being delicious all by themselves (and Rial liked it too), the water in the bowl was turned the color of a garnet, a red as deep as blood. And oh the possibilities one could do with a deep red liquid! I thought how it could be added to pancakes, or a smoothie perhaps, or anything really in need of a little color and a few suble beet nutrients. Or one might dye clothes red (or maybe it would turn out more pink, I haven't tried it yet). or playdough, or play a prank on a young child wanting some "juice". Or possibly use it as ink for an old fashioned letter written with a feather. The options seem only as limited as one's imagination.

But I am now in need of recipes that use beets, because cooked plain is the only way I know. So if anyone out there knows a good recipe that uses beets, please, please, please share.

Devil Weeds

"Oh Golly! Your whole yard is cover in holes Lisa!"

"Why yes, yes it is."


"Gophers?"

"Weeds."

"My! Those must be some weeds."

"Why yes, yes they are..."

"... some devilish, deep rooted, joke of a weed."

Cum-ala, cum-ala, cum-ala Vista

I have an itch. And oh, what I wouldn't give to scratch it. Scratch and tear it up and drive it away forever! Like in that song from girls camp.

I want so badly, to have everything, finished, complete, and done-right now. New flooring: done. New lovely kitchen: done! And a nice garage, a front yard with a little white picket fence, and a sweeping grass lawn with a beautiful garden simply bursting with spring goodness! Oh! let's not forget, perfectly clean air vents and some soft warm walls that don't remind me of cardboard everytime I look at them. Ohhhhhhh, Ahhhhhhhhhh, that would just hit the spot.

But of course, I thought the same thing when Rial and I we're building our chicken coop. "Let's just get this thing done so I can have what I want!". And it was right there, when the feelings of frustration that come with large, time-consuming projects made me stop and step back and think, "Woah, I just felt like a child on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum because they had to eat their dinner before they got their dessert."

But I'm there again. Haha, its like I've time traveled into the past. Now that we've made a big mess by tearing out a wall in our kitchen, I'm itchy all over and I just want my dessert. You can take the nutritous experiences, just give me my dessert.

And now its time to remind myself, "but lisa, you like roast beef and zuchini and mashed potatoes and gravy. You like building things and making things and having fun creative projects to do."

And I'll whine back, "yeah, its fun to make things, but THIS is just so much work!"

"But it can still be fun."

And thats really how it should be. Even though its alot of work and sometimes frustrating that it takes so long, I can still enjoy myself and the time I get to spend with Rial and say 'wow, look at all this great stuff we accomplished! And now we're that much closer to being done!' And years and years from now we'll be talking about, "You remember when we were working on our house and then (blah-blah-blah-blah-blah ) happened?" And we'll talk and laugh about it and finish it up by saying, "Yeah, I'm really glad we were able to do that together, we had so much fun."

Its like: though the destination in life is important, its the journey that makes the memories. And we're the one who deceide what kind of memories we make.

Bee-be-dillie-a-boatin'-bop, Bo-bop-a-beaten-dot- Shhhhhhhhh, Vista!

Interesante'

Do you remember the movie 101 Dalmations? Though I don't know if there are very many people out in the world that have an uncanny resemblance to their owners, I did ask a lady that worked at a vet office once, if she saw that very often- pets looking like their people. She turned her head to the side and thought for a bit and surprised me by saying, "No, not really. Mostly they just have similar temperaments and such."

I had never thought about that, and it made me wonder whether or not Kuma resembled me. Keep in mind now that it was pure luck I wound up with Kuma, its not like I was cat/kitten shopping when I got her. I was walking back to the car at a gas station in safford, tagging along on Rial and Tyler Allen's car-fixing trip. 

Whether or not our temperments are spot-on, there are certain things we have in common. Like how I'll follow Rial around the house sometimes, just to be with him- Kuma likes to follow me around too. And its not even like she comes by and sits next to me, but if I'm in a room working (like now I'm typing on the couch and Kuma's sitting at the window) she'll walk in and hang out there too.   Also, I have this weird habit of sitting up on the sink when I'm doing my make-up- which my cat imitates, both with and without the water running.

Though I've never drank from a sink before, that's all Kuma- cats like it when their drinking water flows for some reason.

But all these similarities do bring up the whole Nature vs. Nurture thing. It makes me wonder if Kuma is a "copy-cat" and imitates me, or were our crossed paths more than just mere chance. I'm not sure, but it is food for thought. Which reminds me, my roast is getting done, avoire!

strut that stuff!

Yes, today is garbage day, but that's beside the point. Our yard is changing. It has taken one step closer to being more of a yard and less of a field of weeds. Granted, there are still weeds, but they won't be there for too much longer.

A big way-to-go! goes out for Brock for digging out the dirt, my father-in-law for shoveling the small rocks with Rial, and Rial for pressing the rocks and laying the pavers. And what did I do to contribute to this fine piece of architecture? I helped pick out the type of bricks with Rial AND I paired them up and handed them to him when he was laying the bricks down. I think I had the best job out of everyone, but that's just because Rial loves me so.

Now, I do feel a little bad spending money on a house project unrelated to the dysfunctionality of the master-bedroom's shower or our air duct system, which are kinda on the top of our to-do list. But the pavers were on sale! And the leveling tool was cheap. And having a nice front yard is important to Rial. And what's important to Rial, is very important to me.

Bauk, bauk, be-cock!

At least thats what I'm hoping they'll be saying when they get older.

Yep, thats right! My 3 year old dream has finally come true. I have chicks. Ten wonderful chicks. They were given to me about 3 weeks ago and I can not get over how fast they've grown! You can already see some of the differences in the fist 2 wk old pic where their sleeping, and the other two pics I took this week. There are 8 black/brown chicks and 2 yellowy chicks.

my poor Kuma. What that cat wouldn't give if she could just chase them about. I'll let her come outside when I water my garden and do a little yard work. And now that we have chicks, she's spends all her efforts stalking them, despite the wire fence that prevents any damage from ever occuring. If Kuma is anything, she is the most hope filled cat on earth. There isn't a simgle time I don't reach for my shoes or walk past a door that she doesn't run up to it and start meowing her wishes of going outside. Poor kitty. But she tolerates being cooped up fairly well, despite her killer cat instincts.

But I digress, its a good thing the chicks are growing so fast, because I am just dying to know what kind of breeds they came from and which ones I'll be eating because they're roosters. Its a sad thought, but I need my chickens to give me edible eggs, and a rooster doesn't configure into that equation, and I can't think of what else I ought to do with roosters. The person who gave me the 2 day old chicks, told me that he didn't know the sex or breed because these eggs became fertilized and hatched unintentionally, which was why he was giving them away and not selling them.

After hours of scouring the internet, I've put my hopes in that the brown/black ones will turn out to be some type of marans mix and the yeollowys to be easter egger chickens. But alot of different breeds look exactly alike as chicks and its not till they're older that their plumage changes to the breed standard. But till all is said and done, I'll take a leaf out of Kuma's book and remain hopeful that I'll be getting chocolate brown and green/blue eggs in 2 months.

Begone with you, foul weeds!

Admittedly, I was disappointed when I looked out at what was once a lovely barren yard, and saw it desecrated by hundreds upon hundreds of weeds. All my hard work over the winter break of raking and gathering dead vegetation, all of it for nothing. Cause now, its been replaced with a vast field of rag weeds, growing high, up to my waist. And with a broken lawnmower and broken weed wacker and zero willpower to work one by one, pulling each one out by the roots, it didn't look like it would be changing any time soon.

So I was standing by my window the other day, looking over my yard, and I decided that I really didn't mind it so much that weeds were growing everywhere, I just didn't want them blooming and going to seed, which they were. Cause more seeds meant ever more weeds next year, and an even bigger mess when we finally get around to re-establishing grass as the dominant vegetation.

So I went outside to get a better look at the mess which was the backyard. And before me, it was all transformed into a deep amazon jungle, with impassable vegetation rising from the ground. Vegetation so easily cut down by a machete. 

Now, not ever having been to South America, I don't own a machete. But being a trainee in the deadly arts I do own an unsharpened set of twin broad swords, which were soon recovered from their home at the back of my closet. 

Then I got to work. I raised my blade and stuck in one fluid movement. Slash! I was amazed how easily my blade sliced through the green fleshy stalks. Slash, slash! Though I had planned on only cutting the flowers off, I couldn't restrain myself from delivering three or four blows to the same patch of weeds, cutting them lower and lower. I had never known weeding to be so fun! And its kinda funny, but I'm hoping maybe I'll get just a few stalks of ragweed next year that I can let grow for more swordplay practice.

The Boy is Back in Town!

The boys (my 3 little nephews) were tearing it up at the entrance for terminals 1-14, Running around and around. They reminded me of some crazy planets orbiting an unseen sun, the way they would run right at each other then turn away from each other at the last second, giggling like crazy before turning again and repeating the cycle. We all watched them as we waited, the grandparents helping to intervene when nessessary.

And then the people could be seen coming down the long hall. The boys were gathered up into loving arms and we all huddled together to peer down the narrow walkway. Alot of people with their bags and cases of luggage came bustling by, but no sign of my brother. Then finally the pilot and the stewardesses brought up the rear. But where was Bryan? In the now empty hallway a lone figure could be seen walking slowly towards us. It was a man, and he did have a suit and tie on, and he did have dark brown hair. could that be him? Or did he give his seat up to another missionary who was on standby too? we asked ourselves. After all, there had been four of them stranded in texas. He was now almost close enough for us to see his face when the man stopped. Looking down, he then knelt to tie his shoe. We laughed, Aw come on! travis cried.

It WAS Bryan. Such a stunt was just like him. All smiles, we waited in our places so we could embrace the homebound son, brother, uncle, missionary of God. It was a joyful reunion.

Go JC Wildcats!

I have found the secret to enjoying watching sports. It is: understanding whats going on. Whenever I watch a game and I know how to play, I end up liking it. When I don't, I'm bored out of my mind. And I've found the more I know about the sport-the more I get into it. So for all you people who wish you could like sports, you now have the secret, go forth and use it well! And for all of you who have absolutely no interest whatsoever in watching sport games, may you enjoy countless superbowls doing other more worthwhile things.

Stake Humanitarian Project

Last thursday was our stake humanitarian project. There was quilt tying, book making, sewing quilts, but I chose to crotchet. And this is what they were making at the crotchet table- little baby booties. Now, I can't read crotchet directions, I have to have it shown to me, so this one sister so patiently worked with me so I could learn how to make one. Then I was able to make the second booty all be myself. It was such a blast, I will definately be going next month. Hopefully I'll be able to go faster now that I know what I'm doing.

Splish spash I was taking a bath!

Our first finished home project! (we're still working on our kitchen cabinets). Our guest bath is now completely tiled, yippee! And a big thank you goes out to Rial's Dad who gave up many saturdays to help and teach Rial how its all done. And another big thank you to Rial for giving up his saturdays to learn. As I supervised, it was amazing how much work actually goes into it, cause along with the actual tile cutting, tile glueing, grouting, caulking, and sealing, there was three whole satudays at least of prep work that had to be done to the wall to get it ready.

Here's a close up of Rial and his Dad's fine work.

Fun with blood

I got to draw blood for the first time! And I must say that Jenny had some wonderful veins for me to work with. Now don't you fret, we didn't practice on each other. Fortunately for Jenny and myself, shes not real. Jenny is actually just a fake rubber arm with fake veins and fake blood that would come out when you did the technique right.

I also got to set Jenny up with an IV. It was so much fun.

Its kinda funny, going through nursing school reminds me of what it was like to learn how to drive. I loved going our with my mom or dad and diving around town with them. It was so much fun to learn to drive stick. But after 6 months of practice, my mother said she had had enough and it was time for me to get my license. I begged my mother to wait just a litter longer so I could be sure I was ready, but it didn't work. Without more than an hours notice, I was down at the DMV. And 2 hours after that, I was walking away with my driver's license in hand, having passed the test. I had never felt so free and so chained down at the same time. It was nice being able to drive all by myself, but I could literally feel the weight of my responsibility as a driver resting on my shoulders when i drove too.

And I love going to school and learning new things about Nursing. I wish i had unlimited supplies to practice with, so i could stay after class everyday and go over all my newly acquired nursing skills, over and over and over again. But when ever I think of what RNs do and what it must feel like to be responsible for someone's life, to know that if you do anything wrong, it could have disastrous consequences, it seems like a weight almost too great to bear. But, nursing is what I love, and just like driving- the more I learn, and the more I practice safety and safe use of my nursing skills, eventually, even with that weight of responsibility, I'll be able to accomplish what I couldn't before.

...Who Destroys Sheds

Note to self: Do not kick at the shed wall when its the only thing keeping the roof up.



So now that you've seen my grand project (look at the post below this) Here is the side project I was a'workin' on when my palms felt like they were going to start blister up from too much shovelin' and sawin'.

I never liked this shed. It was dirty, the boards on the floor were moldy (I found 4 different colors of mold) and the ceiling had 2 old wasp nests hanging from it. And Rial got a wrench set for christmas :D.


You see, the shed was basically a wooden frame of 2x2s on a plywood floor, supported by nails and cinderblocks, wrapped in this sheet metal which was secured to the 2x2s with screw-like bolts and a few more nails. That might have been a run-on sentence, but you get the idea. So all I did was, unscrew the bolts with the wrench, and take out the floor nails with a hammer and prybar. Simple, Easy, that was the plan.


Know that in this picture you're turned toward the East. Now, with a little persuassion, I was able to unbolt the west and south walls. Then I was able to remove half of the moldy flooring (I found alot of rusty nails sitting under the boards). Then the framing for the west side came off cause it wasn't fixed to the ceiling. And I was "merrily on my way" (and I'm thinking of that song that Cecil the horse and Mr. Toad sing) taking down the metal off of the frame from the east wall (that crumpled white piece in the back of the pic) , when I came across... a rusty nail-dun-da-dun!!! that was imbedded in the metal wall and the bottom of the frame. And after 5 minutes of fruitless efforts with my prybar, I kicked it. Really hard. And the wooden 2x2 snapped, releasing the nail and the metal frame. And then, the one remaining wall and roof started to lean... and I thought 'oh crap'.


Luckily, I was able to get to where the wall and the roof met, when it had slowly collapsed on top of me, and then crawl out, unscathed.


Now, I hate this shed. And I will be very happy using its pieces of metal to make a chicken coop, for the chickens I plan on getting this spring.

I am a builder...

This here is my grand accompliahment for this week:

And yes! I DID do it all by myself (well almost, rial did help move one of the logs). Well, yeah, so I know it doesn't look like much, especially with all the second-hand building materials. But it was alot of work. Especially since bricks and logs and dirt is heavy-and I'm a girl.

You see, all that dirt inside the walls had to be dug out so I could lay a foundation of broken paver-squares and give my wall some support. Then, you see those 2 smaller pieces of wood sitting in front? I cut those! With a HANDSAW! Oh Yeah! So that the two larger pieces of wood (they were once railroad ties) would fit on top of my bricks, cause they were just a few feet too long. Then I shoveled all the dirt I took out, back into the planter I had constructed.

And I thought about just making a few holes in my backyard so I could use that dirt to fill up my planter a little better, cause it needs more dirt, but I have alot of weeds. No, I mean ALOT of weeds. Like you look out and think, how pretty! Just look at all that bright green stuff coming up in the middle of all that ugly dead grass! Then you walk a little closer and you realize, oh crap, they're weeds, the kind that grow big and nasty and get their sticky little seeds all over your pants. And then you think of how bad its going to be trying to get rid of them all. That is, of course, unless I use a flamethrower. Then it might be kinda fun. Hmmm...

Rial's Special B-Day Cake

So lately whenever we go to visit Rial's parents, and the TV happens to be on, I always want to see if there's a cake show on. I don't know why, but I just love watching it! And a blog I've recently started looking at is called cakewrecks.blogspot.com. and they just show the funniest cakes, we laugh so hard. You should check it out, you'll laugh too, guarenteed. But anyways, So for Christmas Rial got me a bunch of icing colors, metal tips and a frosting bag so I could start decorating my own cool cakes too. So this was my first attempt using it. I put as much detail on it as I could, I even pin-striped the hood!

I know the lighting is bad, but i combined my red and blue coloring to make a purple grape color, in honor of the first thing we ever bought together-our old purple truck, that we sold last year for our civic.

Santa Rial came to town!

So for Christmas Eve, Rial got asked to be a Santa Claus. He handed out christmas presents to all his cousins at his Grandma Griffiths house. And he even had a flaming wallet magic trick for the kids.

And here he is!

PHOTOS!!!

Ahah! So I remembered how incrediably awesome phones are today. So I've got some photo updates. I'll go in the order I took them.

So last year I saw the movie Twilight when it came out. And i walked away from it thinking, 'gee, I really liked alice cullen's hair. That would look so cute. I'll have to remember that for when I start having kids. It'll be my cute mommy hair cut.'

Well, a week before thanksgiving I kept thinking how it would be really cool to cut my hair in a different way than usual. So I debated for 2 days whether I should save alice cullen (aka ashley greene, and thats one more celebrity I know that I can add to my list of celebrities I know, I think I'm up to 8 now). Well, to keep the story short I cut 6 or 7 inches off. Sorry its askew.

new year resolutions for us

Well, I know I have a very boring blog, and sadly with our camera going AWOL, I won't be able to change the lack of photos for a while, but I will be posting more often, so yay for that!

And Yes, Lisa's new years resolutions include being more active with my blog and not relying just on rial to tell me about the comings and goings of people on facebook, so I'll also be posting on facebook more than once a year.

Another resolution we have is to get our yard up to par (cause it still looks dead, but now with 3 foot high weed/leaf stacks every 8 feet, go us!). And of course, finishing our kitchen cupboards and get more out of debt. I say more out of debt, because I really doubt we'll be able to pay our house loan off in a year (it takes most people 30), but paying off the Element car loan for sure. 

So just you see if I don't make good on my word, my posting goal is to 'network' at least once a week for how ever long it takes for me to keep up with everything. I'll keep you posted! haha, get it? POSTED! haha