Whoo hoooo!!!

I just did 2 BOY push ups! I've wanted to be able to do real push ups since I was a kid and have never been able to! After 3 weeks of The New Rules of Lifting for Women, I can do TWO!!!!!!!! My goal at the end of this 6 month program is to be able to do at least one pull up...........and after this I KNOW I CAN DO IT!

I am woman.............can you hear me roaring??!!!!!

My Treasures!

So today The Man and I had to go do some Christmas shopping for his family. We are getting together with them on New Year's Day. After we got that bit of fun outta the way we went to my most favoritest place in the whole wide world.........THE ANTIQUE STORE!! Oh such a wonderful, happy, lovely place for a homesteader gal like me. It's my candy store doncha know! Today we went to a new place that we'd never visited before and what a faboo place it was! See I have to tell you a secret............I HATE collectors. I'm so terribly sorry if you ARE a COLLECTOR, but I really don't like you. You are the bane of a homesteaders existence. See the rich people who like to decorate their homes in the "primitive" style have driven the prices of those oh so useful tools up to ridiculously ridiculous heights, thereby making it very hard for little ole gals like me to buy the items that I want to USE. I don't want to hang them on my wall or set them on an old table that will never be covered in flour and homemade noodles, or use them to hold fake berries and twigs. Now don't get me wrong, I've got alot of antiques in my home, but I use every single one of them. Some of them I even have hanging on my kitchen wall, but I take them down and use them all the time, then wash them and hang em back up. So forgive me for this frightening turn down the lane of why I don't like collectors, and lets get back to the point of my post shall we? Ok then.....



This antique store was simply lovely. It was nicely laid out and the prices, oh how I could go on and on about the prices. There was a sign on the door that said, Our Prices are Firm, but They are Fair, and boy howdy were they right! Here are my treasures.....



The brown bowl was $3.25 and it holds about 2 cups or so. I washed it as soon as I got home and had a salad in it for supper. Pretty bowls make food so much more fun to eat, don't you think?



The larger of the two cast iron skillets was $8.95 and it was a real steal! I don't know what cast iron pans go for in your neck of the woods, but they are stupidly high around here. If you know anything about cast iron, a Griswold pan is the best of the best. The smaller one is a Griswold and it was $12.95. Now I could care less about the brand name, but there is a very important reason that a Griswold is the best. They are made different and the way that they are made makes the inside silky smooth. That's what makes a good cast iron pan. If you've ever tried to cook with cast iron and haven't had any luck, get a Griswold, season it well, and you will never ever want to use another type of pan. You can find nice smooth ones that aren't Griswolds, and that's what the larger one I found today was, but they are harder to find. If you look at a Lodge pan, they are ridged inside.....that's why food sticks. You just can't get them seasoned like you can a good silky smooth one. Ok.....I've veered off the blog road again.......sorry!


I was very excited to find that silly ladle. It made me want to rush right home and make a big ole pot of stew and serve it up on some grannyware plates!! It was $4.00 which was probably a little high, but I wanted it........good economics right?


Finally I got that lovely covered glass refrigerator dish. I don't like plastic bowls and the glass food storage bowls that you buy today are very fragile. This is a good dish that will last me a very long time. It was $4.00 as well.


The very bestest part about the things I bought today?? Every single one was made with pride in the good old U S of A.........of course they were made about 50+ years ago, but who's counting?


Till next time.........GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

New Rules of Lifting for Women....

I have to tell you how much I'm lovin' this book! Wow! I'm on my 3rd week of workouts and I can't believe how much my strength has increased in those three weeks! I work out three days a week and just follow the program and it's amazing. In the beginning I must tell you I was a little concerned that I wasn't doing enough, but my strength is growing by leaps and bounds. I took beginning pictures, but am not anywhere near confident enough to show pics of me in a bikini! But....I can promise you that in June.........there will be a bikini pic on this blog!!

Merry Christmas from the Goodwife!

As some of you may know, my other blog is about life on our little homestead here. We call our place Goodwife Farm. I just wanted to take this second to wish you all a very Merry Christmas full of the blessings of God's love!

Today is The Youngun's last day of school, so I'm headed out there for the Christmas party. Then we are back home to bake sugar cookies for Santy!

May you get everything you want in your stocking, and not too much junk food in your bellies!

Till next time..........I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Getting set for CHRISTmas and the 11th Birthday of The Paintiff Child!

Things are good around the ole homestead. The tree is up, shopping is all done, packages are ready and waiting! The Youngun had the good fortune to be born on Christmas Eve so we always have alot of fun around here. Every December 24th my folks come down and the three of us take her to a movie matinee and then dinner at Ponderosa. This year we are going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel. The Man seldom gets to join us on this little journey because he has to work. The next time that he will be able to go is for her 13th birthday! Anyway, after the movie and dinner we will come home and wait for him to get off work. The Youngun, Granny Bob, and I will play games while Pop Pop usually plays on the computer or snoozes! When The Man gets home we will have supper. This year The Youngun asked for hamburger roast, brown gravy, and peas with cream cheese brownies instead of birthday cake. Then she will open her birthday presents and we'll play more games till bedtime. Gotta hit the hay early so the fat man in the red suit can come!!

When our daughter was born, the very first night that we brought her home I was laying in bed saying my prayers as usual. I remember thanking God for blessing us with a beautiful healthy child. I told God that I was giving her back to Him that very minute. She wasn't ours, she was His, but we would do our very best to raise her up to be someone that would bring Glory to His Name. She has been a treasure every single day of her life! She knows Jesus and God and strives to follow Him in every way. I still pray for my baby girl every day, praying that she will never forsake Him, and will look to Him for guidance and leadership her whole life long. I also pray for her future husband (if it's God's will that she marry) that God will be with him, wherever he may be. I pray that she will have the good sense to wait for the man that God chooses for her, and that the young man will be a child of God. Life is alot more bearable when a husband and wife both walk hand in hand with the Savior. I'm very thankful that my husband and I both do, and I know the reason our marriage is so rock solid and strong, is because we have God at the head of our household. The Man is on one side of Him, holding on, and I'm on the other and it's a good good thing!

On a different note, we butchered nine rabbits on Sunday. My folks took 5 home and we kept 4. We boned most of our meat out, and then packaged up the bones to boil down for BBQ. I got 5 lbs of boneless meat out of 4 rabbits, so I was happy with that. Not sure how much meat boiled down off the bones, but I already pressure cooked 2 of them and got enough BBQ rabbit for supper Sunday evening, The Youngun had it for supper again last night, AND she took it to school for lunch today! That girl loves her BBQ bunny!! There is still enough in the bowl for at least a couple sandwiches as well.

Well I hope that your Christmas preparations are going well. May you keep the love of Christ in your hearts and on your minds not only during this time of year, but in every season, every month, every second of every day!

Till next time..........GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

P!ssed Off and Mad About It.........

I'm mad today. Very very mad today. Actually have been since yesterday. As some of you may know the evil TOM affects me in different ways. The last two months he really didn't bother me at all. That always sends up alarm bells in my head, cause I know that sooner or later it will be awful. Well sooner or later is here. I am so furious that I feel as if I'm full of bouncing balls and they are pinging around inside my skin trying to get out. Notice that I didn't say that I was angry. Anger is a nice quiet civilized emotion. No, what I am is mad, p!$$ed off. I want to hurt somebody. I want to punch with my fists, kick with my feet, and lash out with the sharp sword of my tongue. I can be so very very mean when I feel like this. I'm a very direct person (I know, news to you right) but my directness is usually filtered by my genuine compassion and empathy for people. Not so when I feel this way. I've ripped that compassion filter to shreds and am standing here snarling, just daring anybody to mess with me. The mental picture that I have of myself is of a Tigress, pacing, pacing, pacing, growling, growling, growling.

There is a silver lining to this disturbed little narrative though. Two silver linings actually. Ok, if you prefer, a platinum lining (this one I've know for as long as I can remember) and a silver lining that's quite new and very nice. The platinum lining is this..........God loves me even when I'm a psychotic b!t'ch. He knows me, and He loves me, and I can call on His strength and His love to calm me down. I try to visualize the white light of His love and I picture myself inhaling it every time I breathe in, and exhaling the blackness that is my rage. This actually helps me. The silver lining is this: even though I'd like to take the person who decided there needed to be a stoplight just before and just after the railroad tracks in Carlinville and bash their head against the sidewalk until their brains splatter out, I don't want to eat! Whoo hoo! I'm p!$$ed off and mad about it, but I have no desire to stuff that emotion with food and that's a victory in itself.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go whip somebody's @$$, punch an old lady in the face, steal a quarter from a kindergartener, and possibly kick a puppy. C-ya!

Till next time.......I'm seriouslyunbalancedandunTHICKINandcheckinintotheboobyhatchTHINNIN!

ps.....blogging is fabulous and I already feel calmer and more centered, so please put down the phone. You don't have to call the guys in the white suits!

My Support System........

No I'm not talking about a good bra, even though that is terribly important! I'm talking about the people who encourage me, inspire me, lift me up, commiserate with me. The ones who just "get it" and the ones who even if they don't "get it" they are still there for me. I've got a good support system. My Lord and Savior, my hubs, my beautiful daughter, my friend Darling Deb, all of my WW's family, and my sister. This is about my sister.

We had Christmas with my folks, my sister and her family, and the three of us this past Sunday. It was very nice. We had a big ole pot of ham and beans, cornbread, and pumpkin pie. Then we opened gifts and after that my sister, my mom, and I played Scrabble and laughed and joked and teased each other and it was so fabulous!

We usually focus most of the gift giving on the two girls, my daughter and my niece, but we do get a little something for the adults. This year my folks got me a new scale! It is a much bigger gift than they normally give us and I was thankful and excited. Mom had asked me what I wanted and I told her I'd like to have that, but it was expensive (30 bucks), but she got it for me and I was very excited for today to get here so I could use it. It measures body fat, bone density, BMI, hydration levels, and of course your weight. This morning I weighed on my old scale first, then on the new one so I could see the difference. The new one weighed me two tenths of a pound lighter, so that's good that it's so close. I took the weight off of the old one this time but next week, I'll just weigh on the new scale and go from there.

I was very surprised when I opened the gift from my sister. I got a little emotional as I read the poem that she wrote just for me. I have this sitting right at my computer so that I can look at it several times a day, and as soon as I get it framed it will hang right next to my computer. My sister is so supportive of me. We are there for each other, and even though we are very very different, none of that matters. I love my sister. I've got her back and she's got mine and we are tackling our demons together, every single day. Some days she's the strong one and I call her for help, and other days I'm the strong one. Some days we are both a free-cockin' mess and on those days we just try to hold each other up! One thing will never ever change.......I love my big sister and she loves me!! This is what the poem says, in case you can't read it.

My Sister

If will power was a yellow orb

You would own the sun

If determination shined bright

You would own the stars

If perseverance was water

You would own the ocean

If triumph was the color blue

You would own the sky

If happiness was the night

You would own the moon

Do you see your wealth?

You own the world

I am so proud of you

Love, Susie

ps.....please don't steal this as my sister wrote this poem just for me! Thanks

Till next time..........I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

An NSV....post one of probably alot of blog posts this morning!

So it's a balmy 16 degrees here in Illinois. What a fabulous day to run outside! LOL! Got my long john's on, my workout pants on over those, my thermal shirt, sweat shirt, stocking hat, and my gloves and I'm ready to boogie! Did my warmup walk, started running for all I was worth.....Uh oh....something's wrong....I'm feeling a draft....on my bum....GOOD GRIEF, I'M SO FAST I'M RUNNING OUT OF MY DRAWERS!! Yup, I had to slow my speed literally every TEN SECONDS to pull up my pants, or they would've been around my ankles! Such a lovely NSV, and a reminder that when you are on WW's you've got to buy pants that TIE!

Till next time.....I'm very much unTHICKINandsototallyTHINNIN!!

Our New Project........

As I stated in my last post we have a new project in the works. I am SO excited about this!!

This is my kitchen

As you can see............it's TINY!!! I hate my kitchen.

There I said it. I like where we live and I like the layout of our land. I mean someday I'd like to be way back in the hills miles away from civilization but until The Man doesn't have to go to work every day, we are very happy right where we are. I love my beautiful barn for my girls, I've got a cozy barn for Luke (my Kinder buck) and a wonderful chicken house. The Man has the garage and his shop. We have beautiful shade and a lovely barnyard and my fruit trees will bear fruit soon. My garden spot is just about perfect, with wonderful drainage, the right amount of sun and fertile black soil! But............I can't stand my kitchen. For a homestead wife there just isn't room to do anything. I constantly have stuff stacked on the floor and canning is a chore because I don't have enough counter space. The Man and I have been wracking our brains to figure out a way to get me a bigger kitchen. We've gone from bulldozing the entire house down (not exactly feasible) to knocking walls out (again, not very cost effective!) to building me a new kitchen where our backporch is now. None of these are going to happen any time soon due to the cost! We were laying in bed last Saturday morning talking about things as we usually do on Saturday mornings. It's really my favorite thing about Saturday's! Anyway, I said something about too bad we couldn't move the icebox and just add a counter in there. The Man said he had been wondering the same thing.

We got up and measured and figured out that moving the fridge would give me THREE more feet of counter!! Not to mention three more feet of cabinets top and bottom. We can move the icebox onto the other wall. It might stick out a bit and look sort of funny until we get used to it, but I've got no problem with that at all if it gains me THREE FEET! of counter space! Sorry for the caps, but I'm so excited about this! We went to Lowe's and looked at the instock cabinets. We were getting prices to know what the cost of all this would be. The base cabinet was going to cost $218. I wrote it down on my little book and we went to look at the instock countertop. I saw a base cabinet sitting at the end of the row. I looked at it and it said it was damaged and the price was reduced to 100$ Whoo hoo! The only damage to it was a hole in the back. Who the heck is going to see a hole in the BACK of a base cabinet?? We bought it right then and had to go home to get the truck to bring it home. That evening after picking the cabinet up we were in bed when the phone rang. It was the guy from Lowes asking us if we picked up the cabinet. I said that yes we did and he proceeded to tell me that they gave us a brand new cabinet instead of the damaged one. We hadn't even looked at it. We just rolled the cart out to the truck and loaded it up! We told him we'd be happy to bring it back and get the damaged one, but he insisted that we not do that, he just wanted to be sure that we got our cabinet so that he could sell the damaged one! So we got a brand new cabinet for over 100 dollars off the price. I feel a little guilty about it, but the gentleman insisted we not bring it back, so I suppose it's a big of good fortune for us. I ordered the faucet at a great price from Overstock.com and now all we have left to get is the top cabinet, the sink, and the countertop. We should be able to do that shortly after Christmas and then I'll have a nice new kitchen.

So in the photos above where the fridge is will be a 36" base cabinet and a 36" top cabinet. I'm getting new counter tops (standard laminate from Lowes) and a new kitchen sink and faucet. That's the other thing. My current kitchen sink is less than 7" deep! Washing canner pans is so very hard! My new sink will be 9.5" deep and this is my new faucet.

It is very tall so between this new faucet and the new deep sink, washing canner pans will be a breeze!!

I'll post updates and photos as we go alone with our project. I just wanted to share my excitement with you all!

Till next time..................GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

God and His Infinite Wisdom

God is so good! In my overzealous desire to have milk again, I allowed Luke to breed Naomi back in July as soon as she came into heat the first time. That would have given me kids next week and only left me without milk for 2 months. Well Naomi came back into heat in October, letting me know that she wasn't bred after all and I was upset about it. No milk until March!! Ugh! My dear friend Rhonda has been cautioning me every since she got me started with these wonderful Kinder goats, that December and January kids aren't a good idea because it isn't the most hospitable weather for babies to be born. I do have a really nice barn with a heated kid box which makes things nicer, but that only works if you are out there when the little darlings arrive. Well, the temperature this morning is right around 10 degrees! That is c-c-c-cold for a tiny little wet goat to make it's appearance, so once again, even though it annoyed me at the time, God know's what He's doing! Thanks Big Guy!

Now some more about this wonderful woman that I call Rhonda! I first met Rhonda because I was looking to buy some Kinder goats. I was thrilled to discover that somebody bred Kinder's just a few miles north of me. I put in a call, she agreed to part with Tulip and would even breed her for me! Whoo hoo! Our friendship was born. Rhonda is an amazing woman and a fabulous mentor for me. Her latest project is an amazing online course for herb growers titled Herbs in the Garden Please check it out! I have been fortunate enough to be one of her testers and it really is chock full of wonderful information on growing and using herbs, from crafts, to cooking, to medicines! If you want to learn how to really utilize those pretty plants you've got growing around the place then this course is for you!

Things are good here around the homestead. I had a scare with Luke that I was embarrassed to share with you all. He had gotten so thin over the past couple months and so I came in to email Rhonda about him. She thought that perhaps he was wormy so I dewormed him with some herbal wormer. He wasn't gaining any weight and then developed severe diarrhea so I took a sample to the vet. He was FULL of worms and he has coccidiosis! Ugh! So, off to Rural King I went to buy some Ivomec. The vet gave me some sulfa for the coccidiosis and I dewormed him. Now I'll deworm him again in 10 days (Thanks Rhonda!) and keep him on the meds for the required amount of time. He already feels better and is stronger. I dropped the ball on this one. Should've chemically dewormed him right off the bat and then used the herbal to keep him worm free. I don't have worm issues with my girls, I think because they are in a much much bigger area. Lukie lives in a smaller barn during the day, and then gets turned out at night. The girls are out all day, and then get locked in the big barn at night. Anyway, he's on the mend and I'm very thankful.

I spent most of the day yesterday organizing and wrapping Christmas gifts. I'm expecting a few more things in the mail today and then I'm all set and ready to go! I hope you are enjoying getting ready as well!

I also have some exciting news to share, but not yet. I'm so happy about it and can't wait to get started, but it will be a couple months before we can get things underway. I'll blog about it soon!

Till next time..........GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

Survivor Guilt??

My demon and I have been together for a long while now. Sometimes he's at the helm, sometimes I'm at the helm, and sometimes we are both standing on the deck, battling each other with cutlass at dawn, desperate to retain control! The longest that I've ever been commandant of the ship is about a year. Then he totally mutinies and keelhauls me and it takes me forever to get my poor bloodied body pulled back out of the water and ON the ship, let alone ready to take control. This time is different though. This time, with the nutritional education that Weight Watchers is giving me, and the support of my online WW's buddies and my real life support system (Thanks Sissy and Darling Deb!) and the wonderful therapy that is blogging, I've got that dirty SOB hog tied with duct tape over his mouth and he's currently rotting in the brig!! I'm not about to say that the sneaky little POS won't wiggle his way out, rip off the duct tape and with a mighty roar of WHAT'D YOU SAY FATTIE, leap out of the hold to wrestle me for the helm once more, but I am confident in saying that I'm fitter, faster, and yeah pretty much downright meaner this time and I think I can take him!!



Now having said all that something has been tickling me lately and I think it's his latest way of f*ck!ng up my program so to speak. All day yesterday I browsed the WW's community. I got caught up on my friend's blogs, read some posts on the groups, and read some status updates. I got sadder and sadder and sadder. I couldn't figure out why. I was having a good day, organizing and wrapping Christmas presents, drinking my hot tea, working on my quilt, but my mind just got "not right". I chewed and stewed and thought about this all last night. I talked to hubs about it and finally I decided that I have to blog about it, for good or ill, or I'm not going to feel better. The bright part in this whole saga is that I didn't ONCE want to eat over it. Never occurred to me, but boy did I want to figure it out so I could feel better! Here is my latest disclaimer.........this may offend some. I hope not as it isn't about you, it's about me and working through this feeling that I have. It may be a way off base feeling, completely foundless, but it's a feeling nonetheless and I've got to deal with it. Perhaps I'm even a conceited hag and it's totally groundless, but nevertheless I've gotta get it out! Whew, now that that's out of the way.....on to the problem!!



I think I have "survivor guilt" so to speak. This program is working just fabulously for me. I'm getting fit, strong and healthy. I'm consistently losing weight, although I do have a small gain once in awhile, I just ignore it and keep doing what I'm doing because I know that I'm doing the right stuff. Small gains happen and it's not a big deal to me. I lift weights, I jog (thanks C25K) and I'm in the best shape that I've even been in my life even with 40 lbs to go! As I said, I was reading some blogs yesterday and some status updates about how some of my friends are struggling right now. My heart goes out to you/them! I feel guilty because I'm not struggling. As some of you know, on Thanksgiving I ate to my heart's content because the food tasted good not for any other reason, and the next day I was out jogging at 7 AM and right back on track. This is the first time that I've even been able to do something like that. In my prior weight loss efforts (before WW's and blogging), if I so much as ate a candybar, it was all over! It took me weeks to get that b@$tard demon locked back up and myself back in control. I don't really know why this time is different, other than I'm focusing on getting fit and healthy instead of on what the scale says, and I have my support system. I don't know if that's it or if I'm just really ready.


I feel the need to defend myself and the fact that I'm not struggling. I don't like that feeling, and it isn't rational, but it's there all right! I'm a SAHM, as most of you know. That makes it easier for me, as I can prepare good wholesome food for myself and alot of times I prepare myself a whole separate supper! I know that would be difficult if not impossible if I were working. So now, I'm putting myself down for doing what I love which is being a SAHM and Homesteader!! Good grief, sometimes I'm so nutty that you could whip me and spread me on a piece of bread....whole grain of course!

I feel the need to constantly remind people that losing weight has never been hard for me (which is very true). It's the keeping it off that I struggle with. So even though I'm losing at a nice pace, I feel terrible because MY struggle is in keeping the weight off. That is most likely when I am going to fall apart. Perhaps not this time, perhaps I'll remember to keep an armed guard in front of the door to the brig with orders of, if the pr!ck moves, shoot to kill! I can just see myself, dressed up like the rebel leader girl in the movie The Rundown......with the bullets bandoliered over my ample chest and my machine gun at the ready...but wait, I digress. I just needed to get all this off my chest, outta my heart, and in the water. I know that I don't check in as often as I used to, and I don't post on AG anymore, but I care about you all so much. You are all in my prayers, every day, and my thoughts more often than not. We are in this together and like any survivors the strong can carry the weak, and when the strong fall, hopefully the weak will have recovered enough to carry them for awhile.

God Bless, stay strong and focused!

Till next time........I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Week 21!

Today is my 21st week with Weight Watchers! I got on the scale this morning, feeling like I had lost. I can usually tell in my body if I'm going to have a loss or not. I sure didn't expect to be down 3.2 lbs for a weight of 191.4 and a total loss of 36.6 lbs! Whooo hooooo! I immediately said Thank You God and then hit my knees. I am so thankful to God for giving me the strength and drive to do this! Without His help, I wouldn't have made it past the first week!

I completed week 8 day 2 of the Couch to 5 K program and I have a plan for when I complete the program next week. I intend to restart at the beginning, jogging where it says to walk and sprinting where it says to jog. I'm hopeful that will help me to increase my speed. I am also expecting a book from the library called
"The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess" As some of you may know, I love love love lifting weights, heavy weights, and I look forward to seeing what this book has to say. I know that I lift correctly, but it's always nice to get a new perspective. I will let you know if I decide to do this 6 month program.

I also want to mention to any other "lifters" out there. If you are using machines to weight lift you are cheating yourself! My husband and I both work out with free weights. When we were on vacation all the condo had were machines. We worked out every day while we were gone. My husband lifts only 2 to 3 days a week at home. We both lost strength while we were gone because of using machines instead of free weights! Hubs worked out MORE and LOST strength. So if you use machines, consider giving free weights a try, they really do build more strength. If you are just looking to tone, then I'd say you are just fine with a machine.

Anywho, just wanted to give ya'll the goods on my week 21 weigh in!

Till next time, I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Good Gracious!

It's been a long while since I've posted! I get caught up in my other blog Thickin and Thinnin and don't update here as much as I should!

Things are good here on the ole homestead. We just returned from a 10 day vacation to Navarre Beach Florida which was a nice relaxing time. I missed my critters, but it was nice to relax on the beach just the same. My wonderful friend Darling Deb took care of things for me here, and she did a fan-tab-u-lous job! I wasn't worried a bit and she claims that she had fun doing it. We are looking into therapy for her, don't worry ;)

The weekend before we left we butchered our meat birds. The Man and I did them together, 12 on Saturday and 14 on Sunday. I must tell you that we skinned them rather than plucked them and things went much faster. Since I'm on Weight Watchers, I don't eat the skin anyway and he doesn't care as long as I double dip his in milk/egg and flour before I fry them so he has lots of good crunchies to eat! These birds were nice! Great big ole breasts and legs! When we butcher chickens we package them up in parts. We package legs together, thighs together. We also bone the breasts because I eat alot of boneless chicken breast. The breasts on these birds were so big that I put one HALF of a breast in a package for the three of us to eat. That means out of 26 birds, I got 52 packages of boneless breast! That is awesome I do have to say!

The goats are doing well and hopefully all three of the girls are bred. My fingers are crossed for that because Naomi got bred back in July and didn't show heat again. I thought she was bred and was looking forward to December kids. Then the silly goat came into season in October!! So hopefully she is bred this time. I'm almost positive that Star is bred. She shows heat very very strongly and she hasn't come in since she was bred in late September. We plan to butcher Icing Ears within the next couple months. I'm very excited for this as I've never eaten Chevon before, but it is a very lean, healthy protein source.

Moon's litter of bunnies will be ready to butcher in a couple weeks as well. I plan to can some of this rabbit meat for quick meals such as BBQ rabbit. Mmmmmm, BBQ rabbit.......

I'm almost done quilting the baby quilt that I will be gifting to a friend who is expecting a little girl. It has really come out nicely and I'll post pictures as soon as it is complete.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. My family came here and I got to cook all day (which is what I love!) and we had a nice holiday. I enjoy Thanksgiving and it's my wish that everyone will remember to be thankful EVERY day of their lives. God is good to us, and we have only to think about our blessings rather than dwelling on the negatives!

Till next time.............GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

Lettin it all hang out......

Ok, so on our vacation I let it all hang out. I didn't drive 750 miles to hide in a mu-mu! I know that this has been a topic of conversation around AG and perhaps on a few blogs. As some of my readers may know, I'm usually a pretty confident girl. I love myself (because every single pound of me is worth loving) and most of the time feel pretty attractive regardless of my size. However, when I got home and downloaded my pictures, I wasn't thrilled with this one! I'm posting it though because I'm still a beautiful woman with a terribly sexy husband! Besides at any given moment there were around 20 people on the beach, none of whom were 25 and supermodel sexy!

Till next time.......I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

I just have a few minutes free and wanted to let you all know how Thanksgiving went here at my homestead. My folks came and my sister, her hubs, and daughter. My daughter's birthday is on Christmas Eve so we combined Thanksgiving and a little birthday party for her. It is very hard to get everybody together in December! I cooked turkey, dressing, scalloped corn, rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade noodles, green beans, corn, pumpkin pie, chocolate layer cake (for Shayla's b-day) and banana pudding. We also had cheese ball and crackers. I may be forgetting something, but at least you get the gist!

What I am about to tell you may be very controversial here at WWers. That is my disclaimer. Thankgiving is the only big meal that I do every year. We don't do a big Christmas dinner. I decided that I was going to eat what I wanted and enjoy the meal. I didn't track a thing. I could have just counted it as all of my weeklies and dailies and said forget it, but I didn't want to sabotage the rest of my week by taking away my weeklies, so the way that I chose to handle it was to call it a free day. As I've stated before, my goal is to be normal with food. It has been and will be a huge NSV for me to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving guilt free and then just resume my tracking immediately after. That is what I've done. I am very proud of myself. My vacation was a great pregame warmup for this one big meal. I will confess that I ate until I felt ill, but I didn't feel any guilt! I sent home carepackages with my family, and then I took EVERY SINGLE LEFTOVER to my chickens, except for the turkey. Such a Thanksgiving feast my birds had but I didn't want to be tempted beyond Thanksgiving Day. I enjoyed all of my traditional foods and then this morning I got up, went for my run, lifted my weights, and got right back to my healthy eating plan.

As I stated, this isn't the way that everybody chooses to handle Thanksgiving, but it is the way that I chose to handle it and it worked well for me. The key to this program is working out the best way for you to "work" it and I am exceedingly thankful that I'm figuring out how to work it for me!

Till next time, I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving full of love and thankful hearts! I'll be here, unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Oh how I missed Thee, let me expound upon the ways.......

We are back from Florida! It was a fabulous trip and very relaxing. The ocean was gorgeous and the weather beautiful. I missed so many things while we were gone. I missed my goats, my horse Champ, my dogs. I missed my bed, and I missed talking to my sister nearly every day. I missed my weight watchers buddies as well, but there is something that I missed even more than all those things. The thing that I missed the most and the thing that made me the happiest to get back to was my FOOD. Oh whole grains, how you make me happy! Dear lovely unprocessed, homemade food, how I love thee! Our condo had a full kitchen and we went grocery shopping late Saturday afternoon upon arrival. However, most of the things that I fix myself to eat here at home are a bit labor intensive and I didn't want to spend all of my time in the kitchen. Breakfast every day was cereal and toast with cream cheese. I bought whole grain bread (Arnold 100% whole wheat and it was delicious!), peppers, mushrooms, onions, pickles, ham and turkey. That means that every single day we were gone I had a sandwich for lunch. I like sandwiches, but that was a bit much! Supper is what presented the biggest problem. I did by pre-cooked grilled chicken strips and some rice in a pouch that you nuke in the microwave so that sauteed with some peppers, mushrooms, and onions was supper two nights. Two nights we had Pizza Hut hand tossed pizza, one night we had CANNED CHILI (Yuck!), and even though I had turkey chili, it wasn't good at all. One night I grilled me a sandwich and had fries with that. I also drank diet soda for the first time in months! I was craving good wholesome food so badly!!

We worked out every single morning that we were in Florida except for Thurday and then the Saturday morning that we left to come home. I completed week 7 of my C25K program and we walked for miles on the beach, and played in the ocean for hours. It was great! I didn't weigh while I was gone because I didn't have my scale, but when I weighed this morning I was down 2 pounds, whoo hooo! TOM has his toe on the scale too, so I was very very happy with that.

This trip was a gi-freakin-normous NSV (non-scale victory) for me. I was so worried about taking this trip, being away from my good food and my tracker. My entire goal for this Weight Watchers program is to be like a "normal" person. I want to be normal about food. I want to be able to pig out on Thanksgiving or any other occasion, and then go right back to eating normally the next day, like my mom and my sister do. On previous weight loss journeys, I have done ok as long as I didn't fall off the wagon. Once I fell off, the damned thing would run me over, drag me down the street, and then drop me on a train track so that the train could hit me too!! It would take me months and yes sometimes even years, to get straightened back out. I was so afraid to "live a little" on vacation so I was allowing myself to get stressed. However, after a couple days of being gone, I loosened up. I allowed myself to enjoy the pizza from Pizza Hut, and even ate a couple mini powdered donuts of my daughter's. I was thrilled to realize that what I was missing most was my good and wholesome food! I couldn't wait to get home so that I could have whole wheat pancakes (which I made the first morning we were back) and my sweet and spicy chicken pasta! We have been back since 11PM Saturday evening and I have had no desirings to get off plan. I really cannot express how this makes me feel. I know that alot of you will know exactly what I mean! It's a good feeling and a truly FABULOUS NSV!!! I feel empowered and for the first time I truly feel like I can whip this demon for good!!!

Till next time.....God Bless and Happy Thankgiving!

I'm still unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!!

18 week update!

Down .4 this morning! I know that some folks get a bit upset when they don't lose alot of weight. My thinking is, as long as that scale is headed in the downward direction, then I'm cool beans! Actually as long as I'm eating healthy, exercising and not lying to myself about whether or not I'm following the plan, then I don't care what the scale says!

We are off on vacation to Florida for 10 days as of Friday afternoon! Whoo hoo! For a long time leading up to this trip, I was nervous as a cat, scared as a chicken with a fox in the hen house! I have no laptop so I will be computerless, ie trackerless for 10 whole days! Oh the horror!!!! But now I'm cool as a cucumber, fresh as a daisy, free as a bird! I can do this. I know what to eat, I know how to judge portion sizes, and I can keep track of what I eat in a notebook. I'm going to go on vacation, work out every day with my hubby, run on the beach and have a blast! Life is good, embrace it, welcome each day with joy, reflect on the good, let go of the bad! My brother in law will turn 40 this year. He isn't happy about it because he thinks he is getting old. My daughter and I were discussing this and my dad said, Well I've got news for him, he IS getting old! My daughter said that wasn't old, 70 is old (lol, and apologies if you are 70). I said, Well it's better than the alternative! My daughter said, What's that? And I said Death!! In short, live life while you are still alive to enjoy it!

God Bless and get up and MOVE!!

Till next time.....I'm unTHICKINandohsoTHINNIN!!

I DID IT!!!!!

I cannot even tell you all how I feel right now. I feel like Richard Simmons, Susan Powter, and Tony Little all rolled into dynamo of energy and power!!! Ok, so I'm doing the C25K right? Yup I surely am. Well today was week 5 day 3.......20 minutes of uninterrupted jogging. As I was driving back from taking my daughter to school I was telling myself.....Self... you are so not ready for this! Then I proceeded to kick Self's @$$ because I refused to defeat myself before I even got started! So I headed off on my walk, telling myself to just jog as long as I could, no shame if I didn't make it the full 20 minutes and if I had to vary my pace then so be it. Well GUESS WHAT????? Didya guess yet? That's right, I MADE IT!! 5'3", 197 lb, 32 years old MADE IT! And I did it outside! Well not it, I mean I have done IT outside but I'm talking about jogging right now!

During the last 5 minutes of my 20 minute jog I was at the bottom of a nice stretch of hill and really wanted to give up, but I did it. Seriously, I'm sitting here with sweat rolling down the back of my head, and I've got to go lift my weights and do my crunches, but I just had to come in here and tell you all that I did it, and you can too, we can beat this overweight monkey off our backs! I shall shout it from the rooftops.....

Weight Watchers, you've created a monster........just call me FITNESS-STEIN!!


Til next time, I am as alwaysunTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

17 week update.........

Hopped on the scale this morning (I wonder how long it will be before I stop being nervous about getting on???) and I'm down another 2.6 lbs. This brings my 17 week total to 31.8 lbs, and puts my weight at 197.2! I feel fabulous and strong and just so good to be learning how to work through my emotions, from fear, to anxiety, to frustration, to plain ole boredom in other ways than stuffing my fat face! However, as I've stated before, losing it has never been a problem for me, it's keeping it off that has been my achillies heel. Therefore I try not to get too cocky and just keep praying that I will be able to make these changes permanant ones and that I will keep the focus on my HEALTH, where it belongs!

My stats since July 7, 2009 (17 weeks) are as follows

Weight lost......... 31.8 lbs
Inches lost
Waist............4
Hips..............4.5
Thighs...........5
Arms.............2
Bust...............3

Till next time..........I'mstillunTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!!

Sometimes It's Not Easy

Being a homestead kid. Most animals around our homestead are destined for the table. Of course we have the layer hens, the adult rabbits, and our milking does, but alot of the babies that are born here will eventually wind up in the freezer. As an animal loving 10 year old girl, it can be hard to not get attached to those darling little babies! However sometimes, once in awhile, a girl can get lucky and she might get to keep a sweet little baby to be a replacement momma.



This is The Youngun and Clover, who will be kept to add to our little rabbit herd.




It's quite the love affair. She takes Clover for walks and cuddles with her several times a day. The Youngun has a really good grasp on the way things work. She's great about understanding that these animals are our food, but it's also nice when she can get attached to one and know that we are going to keep it!

Hope things are great around your homestead! Till next time..............GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

Goodwife Farm's Almost Apple Turnovers..........

Ok, so I love food. Yes I know that's obvious or I wouldn't be overweight, but I mean I really love food. I lay in bed at night thinking about new recipes that I can concoct. This one has been brewing in my peabrain for several days. So today I whipped it up. For your consideration.......a Goodwife Farm original!

Goodwife Farm's Almost Apple Turnover (2 WW points per turnover, 5 points for two)

Dough

•1 1/4 cups warm water
•1 TBSP canola oil
•1 tsp salt
•2 tsp brown sugar
•2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
•1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
•1 1/2 tsp yeast
Add all of this to a bread machine in the order given. Set to dough cycle. When there are about 10 minutes remaining do this.....

Filling

•4 small apples, cored and diced but not peeled
•1/2 cup brown sugar
•2 tsp ground cinnamon
•1 tbsp all purpose flour
Toss together in large bowl until well mixed and coated. Set aside

Remove dough from bread machine. Divide into two equal balls. Set one ball aside. Cut other ball in half, then cut each half into 4 equal pieces, giving you a total of 8 little balls. Flatten each ball into a round and roll thin, turning as you go to keep the round shape. You want this to be a little thinner than a ruler. Now add 1 heaping tablespoon of apple mixture to the round and fold over, pressing edge with a moistened fork to seal. Place on sprayed cookie sheet. Now do the same with the rest of the balls. When you have all of those done, do the same with the other ball of dough, until you have 16 turnovers. Bake at 400* for 15 - 20 minutes. These are delicious whether hot out of the oven or cold on the counter. I should know cause I ate one both ways ;) These also have the kid seal of approval from my daughter!

I should mention that these aren't flaky like a real turnover because the only way that you can get that is by adding yummy butter or lard, and of course that adds fat. Let me know if you try it and like it.

Runnin' Outside!

Since I began working out way back in July, I've been working out inside. I was terrified to walk or jog outside because what if I got tired and wasn't at home! Oh the horror!! What if when I was a mile from home, my legs got tired and I needed a couch?? Yegads such terrifying visions don't even merit discussion!

Today I just really didn't want to do my Couch to 5 K. I simply wasn't "feeling" it! After taking my darling girl to school, I looked out the car window and noticed what a lovely fall day it was. Brisk, a bit windy, nice and crisp with the leaves and such a dark blue sky (because we are about to get deluged with rain again). I thought, why the heck not..........do your C25K OUTSIDE! So I went in and got my tennies on, strapped my watch on my wrist and headed out the door. I jogged north out my driveway and headed out of town. I began week 5, day 1 and was able to do it! It was great! I jogged uphill, downhill, past a silly black dog that was trying to be scary. As I jogged along the back roads around my home I startled a lovely Blue Heron feeding in the creek. I enjoyed the crisp wind in my face and the beautiful colors of the leaves.

It was physically harder to jog outside. I was jogging on asphalt and gravel roads and I could feel my knees and my calf muscles. Not pain, just was aware of them. Mentally it was far far easier. The 5 minute segments of my jog flew by. I couldn't believe it and kept checking my watch to be sure it was right! The time doesn't go by near as fast on the treadmill, but I don't feel sore at all.

It was nice and I hope to slowly switch over to jogging outside. I don't want to do it too fast because of stress on my body, but it was a fabulous change and I enjoyed it immensely!

Till next time..........I'll be joggin'mywayunTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Onderland baby!!!!

So today is my WI and it's week 16 of the wonderful world of Weight Watchers. TOM had his toe on the scale but I still lost .6 of a pound and that puts me in ONDERLAND! Whoo hooo! I'm at 199.8 right now and my next mini weight loss goal is 191 which will make me weigh less than my darling husband. The photo is of my today. I am trying to do a split photo, but not having a darned bit of luck!

I've said this before and I know I'll say it again but I'm so thankful that my Jesus led me to WW. I've never felt better about myself, never felt or been healthier. I'm strong, I'm healthy and I'm getting stronger and healthier. I've lost 29 lbs and feel great! When I hurt my back this time, it only took a week to heal and I know it's because I'm much healthier and fit this time and it was so much easier for my body to bounce back. I know that whatever life tosses my way, I'm better equipped to handle it now and things will only improve. I'm learning to see food as fuel, albeit enjoyable fuel, and not as a fix all for everything.

Thanks fellow WW'ers for your support, encouragement and for sharing the ride! :)

Now I'm off to the treadmill! :)

Till next time.......I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

My daughter is such an amazing person. At the age of 10 she is a far better person than I will ever be. She is kind, compassionate, caring, sensitive, and yet at the same time she is a leader, a defender of those that can't or won't defend themselves, and wise beyond her tender years.

In one of my previous blog posts I was on a rant about being angry and about how you have to pick yourself up and just keep going no matter what without whining or being a drama queen. Well within a few days of me writing that post, my back went out, I had a 1 lb gain at WI, and I discovered those spots that needed to be biopsied. I was in the kitchen fixing supper and I told my husband that I knew that it was God smacking me down for my rant about whiners. I knew that it was God saying, "So you are an **** kicker huh? Well lets see if you can put your money where your mouth is!" My girlie was in the front room and she hollered into the kitchen, "Nun uhh Momma, that isn't how God does things! He loves you!!" I know that He loves me but I still think that He likes to keep me in line and humble when I need it!

She and I talk about everything, and I do mean everything. I want to have a relationship with her and I want her to know that she can come to me anytime, about any topic. She was 3 years old and she asked my dad what it meant to "make sex" My dad of course flew off the handle and says to me "I don't know what you've got going on down there but your kid just asked me how you make sex!!" So of course me being the sarcastic b!t(h that I am replied in the only possible way that I could "Gee Dad, we're making pornos and she's running the camera!" So later that day I told her that Pop Pop had mentioned that she had asked about sex. She said "Mommy I just wanted to know of Pop Pop and Granny ever made sex." I then told her that sex was how you get babies and since they had me and her auntie then yes they had made sex. Then I asked if there was anything else she wanted to know and she asked me why trees were green. She didn't need details, she just wanted a simple answer to a simple question. That has set the tone for our relationship. She knows that nothing is off limits with me or her daddy. I also explained to her that those types of questions made some people uncomfortable and she should limit the conversations to me and her dad. She's only 10 but we've had some great conversations about some sticky topics and I'm so thankful. I pray that she will continue to come to me throughout her life. Sometimes it's hard to remain composed and not react with shock to anything, but if you freak out then they will stop coming to you and that isn't an option to me!

I'm so proud of the person that she is. Her compassion for others knows no bounds. I'm not proud of this story, but when I was a little girl there was a boy in my class named Herbie. He was poor (as was I, but the difference was in that I had parents who cared and he didn't) and he smelled, really really smelled. As an adult, I'm very aware that it wasn't his fault that he smelled, he was a child! But as a child I wasn't very nice to him. My daughter reaches out to those kids. There is a boy in her class that the others kids were just horrid to. She reached out to him and has included him in her circle of friends. Every night I read her a story and right now we are reading the Serendipity books by Stephen Cosgrove. One of them was about a creature that was fat and ugly, but had the most beautiful heart in the world. No one would be her friend because of the way that she looked. When we were done with the story, she said Mom that's just like Rodney! He's a great person, all he needed was a friend! I'm so proud of her for being that friend. I'm proud that at the age of 10 she says to he!! with what others think, I've got a brain and I've got the courage and guts to use it! That is hard to do as an adult, let alone a 5th grader! She has such a grasp on things. One day a couple years ago we saw the shell of a locust clinging to a tree. She looked at it and said, "Mama this is just like what we are!" I said, "What do you mean?" and she replied "When we die, this is all we are because the important part of us will be in Heaven with Jesus"

So many examples I can give of her wisdom and depth and times that she has made me proud, but I'll leave you with this final one.

Idid a blog post several weeks ago about my daughter and my concerns for her and her eating habits reflecting mine. She has been making such wonderful choices and we've been talking alot about healthy eating, healthy weight and such which is very hard because I don't want to make her feel bad about herself, or make it a big issue.

This morning at breakfast she was having cereal. I keep very small (1/2 cup) crock bowls to eat cereal out of. That way you can fill the bowl full and still not over eat. She had eaten all of her cereal and I said, "If you are done, put your bowl in the sink please) She said that she wasn't done. Then she closed up the cereal and put it away. I asked her if she had changed her mind and she told me that yes she had changed her mind because she didn't want to be a fat ugly pig. I told her that no matter what size she was she would never be an ugly pig! To which she replied "But I would feel that way inside and I don't want to feel that way!" I said well that is good thinking because I want you to be strong and healthy!

We've discussed alot that heavy people are still beautiful and wonderful people but they can have lots of health problems and sometimes can't run and jump and play. Her best friend's older sister is a very heavy girl and my daughter commented that she walked sooooo slow, so then we discussed that even though she is a beautiful girl she is putting alot of stress on her body by being so heavy. My daughter said she didn't want to be like that so that led us to discuss once again the topic of healthy eating and being active. It is so hard to be an overweight Mama and to try so hard to make sure that your child doesn't have the same struggles that you do. It seems as if leading by example is working at my house, and I pray that it continues!

Till next time.......I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Quilting Club!

Yesterday I went over to visit my friend Deb and we got to talking about quilting. I had no idea that she enjoyed it and she didn't know that I did either! We started talking about starting a quilting club and are going to do it. We really don't know exactly how it will all work, but we will figure it out as we go. We already have another lady that would like to join us so our quilting club is off and running! We've got to decide how often to meet and on what day. We also need to figure out if we will work on individual projects or find a floor frame and work on one quilt together. If we work on one quilt together we have talked about raffling it off and donating our proceeds to a local charity such as the public library or the local animal shelter, Salvation Army, or another local charity.

It's going to be such fun and a nice old fashioned social activity. I'm not much for socializing because of how worldly most things are, but this is a social activity that I can get excited about!

Till next time..........GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

So much to report...........

I finally got internet service back. I've been without since early Monday morning. I haven't had use of my tracker and that scared me a tad, but it's good practice for when we go on vacation in November. I kept careful track and wrote everything down. Now I'll get it all down in my tracker.

Today was weigh day......I lost 5.4 lbs! I'm sitting at 200.4 lbs, which means I'm just a breath away from onederland! Wow! I didn't expect that at all. I felt like I'd lost, but not that much. I had a gain of a little over a pound last week, so this was nice. I wasn't able to work out much at all this past week because of my back. This week I started week 4 on the Couch to 5 K program and was able to do it without any problem. I also did my weight lifting which I haven't done since last a week ago Saturday when I hurt my back. No worries on that part either so that felt really great! I also went to Salvation Army and bought a skirt that is a size 12 and it fits!

On Saturday I found a spot on my breast so I went to the doctor today to have it and another one on my hip removed and biopsied. Several years ago I had a malignant melanoma so I take these things very seriously. I'm hopeful that these two spots will be benign, but it pays to be careful. My doctor is leaving tomorrow on vacation, so it will be a while before I have any answers, but that's ok too.

My quilt is coming along nicely! I also visited my friend Deb today and we were talking about starting a quilting club where we can get together in each others homes and work on our quilting. That will be fun!

Well I hope you all are well and happy and good!

Til next time.....I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Pics of our new arrivals!

This is Moon and her litter. They will be ready to wean next week, and ready to butcher a few weeks after that. mmmmmm bbq rabbit!

You know as a mother you've often felt this way..........Help! Get me outta here! Especially with 9 children!

These are Rainy's babies the day that she kindled. They have hair now, but still don't have their peepers open. She had 6, two are dark, two are white, and two are broken. Rainy has no sense of humor about her children at all, so in order to check on them, I have to take the box out, otherwise she will try to take ME out!

Quilting....

This is the quilt that I'm working on right now. I designed it and chose the fabrics, my mom pieced it and now I'm hand quilting it. I should have it done by next weekend. I just love hand quilting! This block is called 54/40 or Fight. I have another one to begin after I get this one finished. I'll post pics when I get started on it.

Whole Wheat Berry Pancakes......

Goodwife Farm's Whole Wheat Berry Pancakes (3 pancakes = 4 points)


1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup skim milk (I use 3/4 cup whole goat's milk and then add water to make 1 1/2 cup total)
1 egg
1 TBSP canola oil
1/2 cup mixed berries, lightly mashed

Add dry ingredients to medium sized bowl. Mix wet ingredients (except berries) in measuring cup, beating with a fork to beat up egg. Add wet to dry, mixing just till combined. Mash berries and fold into batter. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle. Cook until golden brown, flip and cook until golden. Serve hot with banana butter, or your favorite topping! Yum!

Banana Butter


3 cups mashed bananas
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 1/2 cups sugar
1 bottle liquid pectin - (6 oz)

Add the banana to saucepan. Add lemon juice, and sugar; mix well.
Bring to hard rolling boil; boil
hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat; quickly stir in pectin. Ladle into clean, hot jars.
Seal by water bath canner for 10 minutes

This recipe yields 8 or 9 half-pints

Hope you enjoy this recipe, and if you try it, please leave me a comment about how you like it! They are so delicious!

Week 13

I'm up 1.6 lbs this morning but it's ok. Fluctuations in our weight are normal and routine and to be expected. The key is to not let the scale sabotage you, and I refuse to allow that to happen!

Last year around this exact time, I leaned over to close my dishwasher door and something went haywire in my lower back. I couldn't straighten up and was in lots of pain. I went to the chiropractor and got adjusted, and she took me off work for 2 weeks. I had to go see her 3 days a week. In the progress of this, I got a stomach virus and was throwing up. When I throw up, I throw up and I managed to separate the cartilage between two of my ribs. This hurts........this really really hurts. They thought I had broken a rib, but I hadn't. So anyway to make a long story longer, my full recovery from this took about 6 months! I've been working out for the last 3 months, lifting weights, walking, jogging and the elliptical with no problems whatsoever. Until Saturday..........during the final part of my workout I felt that little twinge and that was all she wrote. I could barely walk. I began icing it and taking ibuprofen. Saturday was pretty awful, Sunday was better but I had to skip my workout. Monday is my normal day off working out and it was quite a bit better. Still sore, but not too bad. I kept icing it and taking the ibuprofen. Today it's just the tiniest bit sore and I'm going to try a small workout. Trying to decide between the elliptical and just walking on the treadmill. Probably the elliptical as it will be kinder and less jolting.

This scared me.........really scared me! Wow, I was thinking "Oh no!! What if I can't workout!!" It amazes me how much this made me want to eat. I mean really eat! I was hurting, I was scared, and I was down and that made my demon say...."Hey kid, a giant bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy will make you feel sooo much better" He's a bit fat freakin LIAR my demon! I'm proud of myself because I didn't cave in. I didn't drown my back pain and my fears in food, but boy did I want to. My husband is a former smoker (been smoke free for 12 years) I asked him if he ever just out of the blue wanted a cigarette, even though he now thinks it stinks and is very nasty, in moments of stress did he think, "Boy I'd like to have a smoke!" He said yes.......once in awhile he did, so I assume that my compulsion to eat during stress will never go away. That's why I've got to be ever vigilant and squash those compulsions like a slimy worm when they crop up! That's why I love you all and I love blogging. You are helping me squash the worms in my life! :)

Till next time...........I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Things to know about me.....

I say warsh, not wash, as in I've got to go do the warsh, or go warsh your hands. I say fixin, and reckon, as in I'm fixin to go to the store, and I reckon you can go play as long as you are careful. I keep my food in an ice box and the room where the TV is, is called the front room, or sometimes the living room. My mailbox is across the road, not across the street and I cut my grass, or mow the yard, not the lawn. I like to sit and quilt "of an evening" not in the evening.

I don't like drama queens and/or the drama that they constantly bring with them everywhere they go. I am a shit or get off the pot kinda gal and really truly have no patience with people who can't seem to do either. I don't like whiners and can't stand the "poor me" mentality that so many people seem to have nowadays. Everybody gets down sometimes, everybody feels sad and that sucks. I think we are entitled to feel sad for a while, and then we owe it to ourselves to get over it. Get over it. There is nothing you can do about the past. NOTHING. We can't control what life throws at us or the actions of others. What we can control is our actions. We have free will. We can choose the people that we surround ourselves with, we can choose who we want to be friends with, and we can choose to end those friendships at any time that we want. That's a beautiful thing!

I'm not good at friendships. I take true friendship, real friendship very very seriously. I've been hurt by what I thought were solid friendships so now I just don't let it happen. If you want to be my friend it is gonna be on my terms and if you don't like that, well sorry. Is that a shitty way to be? Probably, but it's a defense mechanism that I've got down pretty darned well. I get so sick and tired of women judging me, judging my marriage, telling me that it isn't healthy when what it isn't is worldly and that is a rare thing in this day and age. People have become so worldly, so wrapped up in material things that don't matter a bit in the long run. My husband is my best friend in the world. There is no one I'd rather spend time with. I had a former friend that told me that wasn't healthy. It wasn't healthy for me to want to be with my husband when I can. Well riddle me this........if you have a best girl friend, that you get together with at every available opportunity, how is that different from me wanting to be with my husband? Why is it ok for you to spend all your free time with a girlfriend and it's not ok for me to want to spend all my free time with my husband?? Once upon a time, married couples loved each other and wanted to be together. If I didn't love and respect the man, I would never have married him. Is that type of relationship good for everyone? Probably not, but it's good for me. I don't judge other people for the way that they do things, this is America after all. Live and let live people. If you don't like the way somebody else does things, who said it was any of your business anyway!!

As my good buddy Hank Williams Jr would say........if ya mind your own business, you won't be mindin mine!

Till next time...........I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Deep Thoughts from this Shallow Mind.....

As I'm sitting here at my table working on my quilt and enjoying my fireplace my mind is very busy. My mind is constantly going, sometimes with a song on full loop, sometimes with a certain phrase, sometimes talking to God, sometimes talking to myself....well I could go on and on. But right now, my mind is sweeping back to my ancestors. As some of you may know from reading my blogs, I'm a throwback to another age. I live on a homestead, grow as much of my food as I can, raise rabbits and chickens for meat, enjoy fresh rich milk from my goats and pretty much try to live as naturally as I can. I love my life!

Today I've been thinking alot about how my ancestors ate. Years and years ago my great, great, great grandma didn't have a supermarket to go to. There was no such thing as fiber bars, 100 calorie packs, and such. White flour was for Christmas and nothing else, and the same for white sugar. A couple times a year if that. The rest of the time, they ate whole cornmeal (not this degerminated crapola we have today) whole wheat that they probably ground themselves or else took their sack of wheat to the mill and had it stone ground, maple sugar and fresh meat and vegetables that they raised. Then times got "better"! People could afford to buy white flour! Glory be what a miracle! They could afford white sugar, not just for Christmas, but all the year round. Then not only could they afford to buy those things, but grocery stores began carrying white bread and already baked and cookies, cakes, and pies! Then the powers that be figured out that if they could just make it to where that stuff would last longer, they could bake more volume and make more money. Enter the preservatives. I currently have a container of heavy cream in my ice box because we are making homemade ice cream and I didn't have enough milk to seperate for my own cream. I was reading the ingredients list, thinking well it's probably just cream right?...........WRONG. Heavy cream, skim milk, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate80 and carrageenan. What??? I'm pretty certain that those last few ingredients do NOT come out of my goat? What is that stuff and why is it in there? Have you ever read the ingriedents list on a packet of instant hot cocoa? Good grief, but I digress.

As times got "better" people stopped making so much of their food themselves. It was far easier to purchase it and wow, look how fancy we are having store bought white bread at every meal! I firmly believe that our lives might have gotten easier with these new innovations, but they for sure didn't get healthier or better. I'm not saying that we all should go back to beating our laundry against a rock in the creek (because face it, the clothes that are made today wouldn't stand up to it) but I am saying that we need to get back to a more natural way of eating. For me, I'd much rather get my fiber from some oatmeal, fresh veggies, or fruit, rather than something wrapped in cellophane paper! :)

ok, I'll step down off my soapbox now!

Till next time....I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN

More busy busy busy!

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been busy as a bee! We've got 9 little rabbits and another litter due any day. Naomi and Star are now both bred, and it's time to dry Tulip off for the season. I hate this because I do so love my goat milk, but we are going on vacation in November and I don't trust anybody else to milk her. She's been fresh since January and is due for a rest anyway. Next year, I hopefully will have milk the year round! We also have 25 meat bird chicks in one of the horse stalls eating us out of house and home. Since I've been on Weight Watchers, and eating lots of boneless skinless chicken breast, they will save us lots of money this year. We are also going to bone out some of the rabbit meat when we butcher and see how that works out.

Today I'm mixing up two batches of homemade ice cream. We never buy ice cream, just mix it up and make it here. It's so much better than anything you can get in the store! Since I'm drying Tulip off, we are trying to get enough made to last until Naomi kids in December. I don't think we will make it! We'll just have to do without until she freshens.

I'm also busy working on a baby quilt. I love to hand quilt and this is going to be beautiful. After it's finished, I've got another one ready to start!

Hope you are all happy and healthy!

Till next time...........GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!

Ode to a booty.......with apology to Sir Mix Alot, The Commodores, and Tim Wilson

I've got a big butt and I cannot lie
The rearview mirror I can't deny
When I catch a glimpse of that big round dish
It makes me say Oh My!

I'm a brick house
I'm mighty mighty
I'm letting it all hang out!

Look at that booty. Show me the booty.
Gimme the booty. I want the booty.
Back up tha booty. I need tha booty.
I like the booty. Oh, what a booty.
Shakin' that booty. I saw tha booty.
I want the booty. Lord, what a booty.
Bring on tha booty. Give up tha booty.
Lovin' tha booty. Round booty.
Beautiful booty. Smokin' booty.
All about tha booty. Big ol' booty.
Serious booty. Amazin' booty.
Ooooh what a wonderful booty.

Girls, don't wait until you are at goal to love yourself. You are beautiful, wonderful, fabulous, amazing, and sexy! Live like you are already there and your journey will be much easier!

Till next time.........I'll be unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Fabulous Fall Fare............

• Yesterday for lunch I whipped up the most delicious potato soup and a veggie and mozzarella pita to go with it. This morning called for a yummy bowl of Apple Cobbler Oatmeal and some Black Cherry hot tea. I LOVE FALL! ;)
  
  I'm going to post the recipes here for you to enjoy, if you desire. The Apple Cobbler Oatmeal isn't anything special, but it is very yummy and so filling on a cool fall morning.
  
  Goodwife Farm's Apple Cobbler Oatmeal (5.5 points)
  
  1/2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned oats, not the instant kind)
  1 cup water
  1 apple, cored and diced, but NOT peeled
  2 TBSP raisins
  1 tsp cinnamon
  1 TBSP brown sugar

Combine first 5 ingredients in 2 cup bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, microwave for 1 minute more, stir. Microwave for 1 more minute, stir. Top with brown sugar and enjoy! See I told you, nothing special, but very delicious!

Goodwife Farm's Potato Broccoli Soup (4 points)


1 cup diced potatoes (do not peel!)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup frozen broccoli
1/2 cup whole milk (I used goat of course)

Put potatoes and onions in small pot along with 2 cups water. Add a bit of salt and boil until tender around 10 minutes (more or less, just until fork tender). Do NOT drain water (depending on how thick you want your soup). Add in the milk and the broccoli and simmer over low heat until broccoli is tender and soup is piping hot. This is incredibly creamy and delicious!

Veggie Pita (4 points)

1 small green pepper sliced into strips
1/4 cup sliced onion
4 button mushrooms sliced
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 whole wheat pita pocket (see past blogs for recipe)

Saute veggies in canola oil until desired tenderness. Remove from heat, top with mozzarella cheese and immediately stuff into pita pocket. Enjoy with your soup! I seasoned my veggies with a bit of cayenne pepper as they were cooking! Delicious!

Till next time......I'll be unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Differing Approaches to Weight Watchers

The first thing that I'm going to say is that this blog post might honk some people off. I hope not but you just never know, so I'm going to say that right off the bat.

Now that that's out of the way......

I've been thinking alot lately about why some people have great success with this program and why others don't seem to do as well. It isn't the program. The program is the same for all of us. From reading boards, and blogs and different statements from lots and lots of different people there seem to be a couple different viewpoints about this program. I really get a vibe that some people are on WWer's because it's the "in" thing to do. Like people who try out for the volleyball team because all of their friends are doing it. They don't care about volleyball, have no intention whatsoever of practicing or trying to get better at it. They just don't want to miss out on whatever is going on at the practices or the games.

The other camp it seems is dead set on changing their lifestyle. They are serious and they are ready and they are bygosh going to make some healthy changes. They are working hard and ready to make the sacrifice that has to be made. The second camp is the one who will make it. The first camp probably won't.....at least this time. The day will come when they will be ready to be in the second camp and then (and only then) will they succeed at this game.

I'm glad that I'm firmly entrenched in the second camp and I hope that I don't ever pack up and move! Losing weight has never been hard for me. Keeping it off for more than 5 minutes has always been my challenge. It's my fervent prayer that I'll be able to keep it off this time. In the past I've always been in the first camp, doing it for all the wrong reasons. This time, I'm doing it for the right reasons and in the right camp. Hopefully that will make all the difference and I will be a WWer's success story!

The Many Faces of TOM....or Why My Husband is a Saint....

TOM manifests himself in many many different ways. Well let me clarify. I don't know if it's TOM or if it's my demon that TOM likes to poke with his big pointy stick, but it's one of them.

Some months TOM is a weepy, insecure, 6 year old who wants a husband to cling to, sometimes TOM is an evil she devil whose family can't do anything right and acts like she's the only one who ever does ANYTHING around here. Some months TOM is a randy tramp that wants a husband to molest in the bathroom (the one that my particular husband doesn't seem to really mind at all) and sometimes, just sometimes TOM is all three of those delightful creatures all rolled into one.

When TOM is all of them, a typical day can go something like this.


4:15 AM Wake up and send hubby off to work with a big kiss and hug as usual.

10:00 AM Call hubby weeping and tell him that he needs to come home because I'm sad and need a hug

11:30 AM Call hubby and tell him that I'm so sick and tired of cleaning up after these &*^%*&^ dogs and couldn't he JUST take them down in the back and shoot them please!!

1:30 PM Call hubby just to tell him that I love him and can't wait till he gets home when I'm going to (insert your favorite sexual euphemism here) as soon as he gets in the door!

4:00 PM Call hubby to ask him why in the holy ^(^&%*& he isn't home from work yet and doesn't he love me anymore??

6:00 PM Hubby finally gets home wondering if he will be greeted at the door by the baby, the bitch or the slut, or maybe all three?!?!

8:00 PM Fall into bed beside a husband who immediately gathers all of my personalities into his big strong arms, locks them securely to his wide wide chest, whispers I love you in my ear and then drifts off to sleep safe in the knowledge that this too shall pass and tomorrow morning his REAL wife will be back!

Till next time......I'm unTHICKIN and soTHINNIN.......albeit just a little bit nutty! ;)

Learning the difference......

As I make the journey to health and fitness I'm having to learn the difference in alot of things. One of the biggest things I'm trying to learn is the difference between binging (what I used to do) and not depriving myself (what I need to do). I don't have any trouble staying on plan, and I rarely use my weeklies. I simply don't have cravings or usually need to use them. If I do, then I do and it's no big deal.....most of the time. Of course when that sick, sadistic, evil @#$#%!#$$! TOM is tickling me, that is a whole nother ball of wax! That is the only time that I have cravings and unusual hunger. It is also the only time that I beat myself up about having cravings and unusual hunger. Hmmmm, that's a thinker. Anywho, I'm ravenous today. I'm completely on plan, not even into my weeklies and I've got my supper all programed in. I still have 2.5 dailies left and I'm really craving chocolate. I'd really enjoy a sliced up apple with some caramel, peanut butter, chocolate dip. This comes out to 5 points which will use 2.5 of my weeklies. This isn't a big deal. Intellectually I know this. Intellectually I know that I can have that little treat to satisfy that b@stard TOM and all will be well and good. My brain knows that isn't a binge. My head knows that it's simply satisfying a craving and nothing more. However the scared little fat girl that lives inside me (and TOM with the poking of my demon) is too afraid to do it. That poor fat little girl says DON'T DO IT MAN, it's a binge! I know it isn't a binge, but that little fatty just won't believe me! I sit here and I think, well if I eat less supper I won't use my weeklies. How silly is that? I mean, any other time I could care less about using my weeklies!!! My darling husband says all women who've had a baby are crazy half the time.....during TOM's monthly visits, I'm totally inclined to believe him.

Till next time.....I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

11 week Weigh In.....

I'm down 2 more pounds for a total loss of 20.2 lbs! Whoo hoo!!

I was very nervous about weighing. I've been following the plan, working out, getting all my healthy checks in, but TOM is tickling me and I was just a little bit afraid that he might cause me to have a small gain this week. I tell myself that it doesn't matter what the scale says as long as I am on plan and I mean it, but it's still a bummer if you don't have a loss or you have a small gain. It's going to happen and it's ok when it does, you just keep on keepin on!

That said, I was very glad that I lost 2 pounds and I dropped to my knees right there in the bathroom to thank my Maker. He is giving me the strength to do this and I couldn't get through one single day without His guidance and love, not only in my weight loss journey, but in every aspect of my day!

I also couldn't get by without the support of my wonderful family, especially my sister, and all of the new friends I've made here on the WW community! The support and encouragement are a wonderful gift and I'm thankful for every one of you! :) *sniff*sniff* K I'm done now!

Till next time......I'm unTHICKINandsoTHINNIN!

Ode to my bones....

I always knew I had bones. I mean my flesh didn't melt to the floor and I was able to stand upright so they must be in there somewhere right? I just never had visual conformation that they were in there! Lately it seems that every day I discover a new bone that I didn't know I had. I'm enjoying just how sexy the graceful shadow of a collar bone can be. This morning as hubby and I were relaxing in bed before starting our day, I reached my hand up to stroke his face and was surprised and excited to discover a little bone in my wrist just under my thumb. I sure didn't know there was a delicate little bone there! I've noticed that my elbows are pointier and my neck is getting thinner. It feels good. It feels sexy. It feels powerful.

Til next time..I'm unTHICKIN and soTHINNIN

Make yourself some Yogurt!!

First you are going to need a goat.....what's that? Don't have a goat?!? Well for pete sake! You'd better remedy that little detail right now! Well I suppose you could use boughten milk....if you must!

First gather up your supplies........

Not pictured in the supplies but very very important for yogurt making is of course milk. The other supplies pictured are a wide mouth quart jar that is nice and clean, your yogurt starter, and a heating pad.

After milking your goat bring your milk in the house and strain it into that wide mouth quart jar that you see sitting on the table there. Then take yourself a couple big ole tablespoons of that plain yogurt. That is your starter. After you get your own yogurt going you can just feed that to the neighbors or something cause you aren't gonna need it any more! Put the couple tablespoons of yogurt in your jar of milk and stir well. If you don't stir it you'll have lumpy yogurt!

Ok.........whew, that was exhausting wasn't it? As soon as you've rested up sufficiently, screw the lid on the jar. Now you are ready for the next step.......

Put your jar on top of that heating pad and pull it up around the jar. Fasten about three rubber bands around it to hold it up there. Plug the heating pad in and turn it on high. Now just walk off and forget about it for 12 hours or so. I know I know you are probably so worn out right now that you need a nap. It's ok, go ahead and take one, your yogurt will make itself!

After the 12 hours are up, test your yogurt by sticking a clean butter knife down the center. If it breaks away from the knife it's sufficiently "yogurty" and is ready to put in the refrigerator. If not, let er go for a couple more hours. If after 14 hours it doesn't break then something went wrong, but I've never had that happen! Now put it in the fridge and the next morning fix yourself up a bowl of this..........

and enjoy!

psssss......if you are cursed without a goat and are using store bought milk, you must heat the milk up to around 90 degrees before proceeding with the rest of the steps! (I guess anyway, I've never made it with store milk ;) Also, you can keep your yogurt going for a long time by just using it for a starter. If it ever fails to "yogurt" then just go back to the store and get you some plain yogurt to use as your starter again!

Til next time.........GOD BLESS FROM GOODWIFE FARM!