Tuesday, December 29, 2009

My 1st ever wacky award goes to ....GRANDMA

In today's earlier written post , I encouraged you to have fun..be/do something wacky
Good clean fun, that is...

I realized someone earlier had sent me a prime example for wackiness...

I decided to give my 1st ever official wacky "award" to the gal who went the extra "mile" in being wacky..

Drum roll please....TaDa.....

and the winner is....GRANDMA....
check her out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of86xAq1DRg
If I ever find out who she is,I'll send her a gift certificate...she deserves it.

Think your wackiness youtube can beat her ?
Out of the 1st 100 youtube clips ,of good clean fun I receive,on Jan 1st, if yours is chosen by me for my 2010 wacky award, I will send you a $25 gift certificate.
Remember I not only like to smile, I love to laugh...at clean "stuff" ..
.. BECAUSE a merryheart doeth good as a medicine....
I am getting primed to laugh myself silly :-)

All entries must come with your e-mail and home street address , because
I'd like to at least send you thank you for your entry...
(all lewd/suggestive video's ,my values are conservative, real true blue ladylike ones,will be automatically disqualified and sent to my trash bin...)

GOOD "LUCK"....now go for it.....

win in 2010...and have some fun



Life's road..what kind of tracks will you make as you travel it?
Everyday that we draw breath is great...
REALLY....

I know what you're thinking, "you" don't KNOW "my" life...
Perhaps not, but believe me I've "been there and done that" in many ways...

Just a "few":
I chose to "cold turkey" withdrawl off Valium. It had been "given" to me by my Dr.
me not knowing it was addictive and would"demand" MORE to achieve the false "help" it "offered"...It did..I learned... I quit...
Nearly dying giving birth (Au natural..i.e. fully conscious and aware)

I was "kicked" out of my home when I was a young teenager,by drunken ,raging mad dad,
I did leave briefly, but miles from nowhere ,this city gal crept back home later...

My paternal grandfather,molested me when I was still a child.

I contemplated suicide numerous times during my earlier years of life.

I've made many mistakes,like we all do. Wouldn't a "do over" be helpful with gained wisdom?

I know what it is like to be without, to face angry debt collectors, to be rejected by or lied about by those who should love you and be there for you.
Homeless for a month , I lived in a camping trailer ,pregnant while my husband was in intensive care at the hospital with a serious heart condition,talk about scared.
Later my husband and I were "rejected" from receiving food assistance,when he was out of work shortly after the birth of our 1st child.

I've run a "gamut" of injuries and frightening experiences:
I've fallen into rapids, faced hungry bears, been bitten by dogs, thrown, scraped and bucked off by horses, fallen on by a horse, dragged 1/8 mile and run over by cows ,once nearly breaking my back.
I've broken bones, growth plates, torn tendon, cartilage, "enjoyed?" numerous surgeries,
survived several head injuries,fallen numerous times ,once a full story from a fire escape ladder.

I've lost precious loved ones ,as well as beloved pets.

I think you get the picture...I've really "been there ,done that",at least more than the average "joe"...
I share some of my life ... just to let you KNOW,while I may not have experienced exactly what you have or are currently facing or enduring, I've more than paid my dues to be able to say....

How we travel this road... the tracks we make on our life journey...is ultimately up to us...

Do we painfully,mournfully,self pitifully drag through ? ... OR...

Do we carpe de um ...or ,as I like to say pie a'la mode life?

Life is great...even when "bad" it is great...it depends on how you choose to view life.

Grab a mirror, take a good look at yourself,really look, deep inside.....then smile,even if you can't...( I have too)

Keep trying to smile...
I have numerous posts about smiling, rising above circumstances & events, and about getting inside yourself in order to have the courage to stand and grow ,

p.s. this post is better suited for my merryheart,but my blogs are not currently allowing me to cut and paste.
I started writing with another concept in mind but this post kind of wrote itself,
while the post is a bit heavy for farm funnies ,I didn't want to lose it...(sigh ...ok... re-write it!)
Hey, if I throw a pie at something will that "offset" the heavy subject matter? :-)

2010..It is nearly here..only you can decide what kind of a year it will be...
What do you really want it to be like?

Wouldn't it be great to enjoy the journey and have some good clean fun,as you travel ...
Here is a little challenge to get you started...
As I told one of my up line (a fellow dog and horse lover)...
Right now...stop what you are doing at your computer, kind of hang upside down like a monkey and hop around the room ,making monkey noises (to wake up the dogs,and or drive your spouse bonkers, if you are single and or alone..do this just for you!) then hop over to a window or door
and really LOOK outside , really notice the sky,the birds the ??? take a few deep breaths of fresh air if possible ( in with the good..out with the shallow stale "bad") and then go back to work...
And remember, you can have fun along the way...even the "little" stuff is good

YOUR choice...YOUR life...YOUR journey.








Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas,making a list checkin' it twice...


Are you making a list,and checking it twice?

Do you have lots to do, and then LIFE happened,

Hurry over to read how I handle life "stuff" in my new post at

my merryheart blog

it may help and it sure couldn't hurt :-)



Ya'all come back now...


p.s. me ????

believe it or not I had to come here to my own blog

just to find my bath snowball and fizzies recipe

because: my "stuff" is a waiting to be "born"!

it's so fun to "squish" stuff with your hands.

I guess that's why I making my mud (clay) creations...


WOW do the simmering oranges for my mystery cake smell divine and so...

Christmas-y

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

the tree is still outside

stockings are hanging and waiting

donuts want to be deep fried

it's freezing so perhaps some slipping and skating

but not by this farmfunnies granny

hubby is my own sweet (w)rapper

hiding presents one has to be uncanny

(hubby's gift hidden ,the dogs best not tell with their yapper

'cause they followed me to the hidden site

watching as I lugged and shoved it there with all my might

I'd best stop punin'and funnin' and make those fizzies

or I'll wonder where the time went and be in a frizzie

yikes this rhyme just swithed it's "mode"

I sure hope the fizzies when packed don't explode...

Ok I'll stop, this is really getting silly

and yikes its freezing tonight ,so it will soon be chilly


whew, now I can check the bath "stuff" off my list...

what about you ?

Monday, December 21, 2009

Magic LOVE cake for Christmas

My magic love cake version for your special loved ones ,or "someone :-)

2 days before go outside and gather 6 farm fresh eggs
from your feathered friends,wash them and refrigerate.
Purchase several pounds of oranges (1 lb organic if possible)
about 1/4 cup of whole cloves.

1 or 2 days before you plan to serve your cake and eat it too :-)
cover 1 lb of oranges (well scrubbed, the organic ones) with water and simmer for 2 hours

while your oranges simmer "stick" the whole cloves
into your remaining oranges in random patterns
( even better watch your grand kids or neighbor's kids so the parents can have
a few minutes of alone time for a cup of coffee together and let the kids do the clove "stuffing" honors( I have fond memories of doing this as a child, it's now our turn to help a kid make warm pleasant memories... when finished attach a ribbon then hang up above your kitchen stove or on the tree)

to the mushy cooled orange mixture add 6 eggs
1 cup of sugar ( or 2/3 cup of honey)
2 and 1/3 cup of ground almonds
1 tsp of baking powder
with a wooden tooth pick "apply" to batter
a touch each of frankincense and myrrh essential oils
(your Christmas "magic" love ingredients)

pour your very wet batter into an oiled 8" pan ( a springform pan is best)
bake at 375 for 40 min cover cake with foil (to protect top from burning)
bake approx another 20 min (use clean tooth pick test for doneness)
wrap and fridge until you are nearly ready to serve it
frost cake with stabilized whip cream (opt)

you will now have a "gift" of gold frankincense and myrrh
to remind everyone of the gifts for earths one and only true KING
whose birth we celebrate on Christmas day JESUS...He IS the reason for the season.

(check back in Feb for my love "potion" magic love cake recipe for your special "valentine")

Saturday, December 19, 2009

my bath snowball verzion for great Christmas gift

look for this recipe in previous post, along with bath fizzie corrections..

a major oops in today's earlier bath fizzie post,if that went out before I made corrections

I had "mixed together both recipes..
multi tasking can create interesting recipes,results or disasters sometimes
I've managed to do all three at one time or another.. :-)
so if that ever happens to you, whether multitasking or a newbie, just keep trying
the end results are worth it

Ahhh...homemade Bath Fizzie..nice Christmas gift

Tomorrow,tomorrow, is only a day away...
well it was rather busy hear on the farm so my "tomorrow" promise for bath fizzie's was detained.

Here it is...I hope to make mine today too.

Bath snowball (my version)
1- 11/2 cups of epson s
(to create a total of 2 cups ,I use mineral sea salts for the rest
(these are a tad spendy ,so for mine I used a half off coupon at JoAnn's fabric)
1 cup of baking soda
2Tbsp of essetial oils add 1 drop ata time
few drops of food color
pack into round ball type molds,let dry 2-3 days.

Bath Fizzies
1/2 cup of citric acid (I finally found this at a pump "store",when our well pump "kicked" the bucket this last summer, I've searched for this for over a year,suppose you could google it, I just never got around to google this item,as I thought it could be found locally)
3/4 cups of corn starch (both items can be purchased in bulk
at winco stores, sift these 2 ingredients together
1/4 cup of sugar, stir this into the above mixture
place 3-6 drops of food color
into 10-15 drops of essential oil ,place these last 2 ingredients into a spritzer bottle
spray gently and lightly onto your salt/mixture ( or it will fizz) until your mixture is damp
(I can't find my recipe,if memory serves me correctly it seems the oil and color was added to 1 cup of water that was placed in your spritzer bottle, this will work,but might dilute your concentration of oil/color ,so you could try 1/2 c of water 1st..remember to spray lightly until the mixture is damp, if 1/2 cup or 1 cup of water isn't enough to dampen just repeat this part)
pack the mixture firmly into molds or an ice cube tray (rubber) let dry out
viola' pop them out
for gift giving ,place the fizzies in a clear glass or plastic jar with tight lid

enjoy

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Traveling for Christmas? Hidden dangers in your "good" car tires

Please watch this video ,a friend just e-mailed to me, about the hidden ,life threatening danger in your car tires, it could save your life or the lives of your loved ones.

As soon as it is daylight I will crawl under our and try to decipher how old the tires are,even though they have good tread on them

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826896

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Fun inexpensive gifts to make for Christmas


Yesterday I promised to share a couple of ideas that you could make for Christmas.
Aren't these polar fleece pillows adorable? You will need 1 yard for each pillow
I purchased 1 yard of light and 1 of dark blue to make 2 toned pillows. 30x30 30x36
or buy 1 1/4 yds for 36x36 sqyuares. You will cut 4-6 inch fringe, I like mine long and next time would buy a little extra fabric to make longer fringe.
Notice the snowman pillow is only half tied on the top.
The left side is not cut yet, so you could see how to cut the corners.
You need to cut a square out of each corner , then clip a fringe edge.
Tie each "set" of fringe in the same method so your edge will be uniform.
I left 1/3 of the pillow untied to put in poly fill for stuffing, then tied it when i had the pillow
stuffed with just enough "stuff"to be cozy.
The "critters" are hand appliqued on. You can have solid pillows, buy printed fleece,or applique on something you would like. When i bought this fabric, a big football type guy was buying a whole bolt each of green and yellow . I KNEW what he was going to make, and so did the other women in the store. A large he man sized comfy DUCK "snuggie" with fringe. He nearly had several women flatten him, so they could take away his two bolts, when they saw what he was going to do. Women can overpower ANYTHING when they are in shopping or sewing mode.
I'm surprised the feathers weren't flying, it was duck "season" .
The ducks (U of O) had just won the civil war...
Get this the fabric was 1/2 off at our local JoAnn's plus he had a coupon...WOW...
Now for a very fun kitchen gift..what else at farm funnies but cowgirl cookies?
For fun I followed a tweet just out of curiosity and wound up setting up a whole cool fun site.
FREE is good....and one of my choices for my site was a link to Bakerella. WOW I will have to limit my time there, I love to even read recipes...
I am sure going to make some of the cake pops , maybe for our Christmas Birthday cake?
Go to http://ppl.blastoffnetwork.com/bettyframe scroll down to the Bakerella button
click on it then scroll to the cowgirl cookies...
This is a recipe for a very attractive cookie in a jar gift. YUM....
( several years ago I made up about 30 similar jars for gifts for hubby's fellow
workers plus a few extra ones for several family and friends .. a very BIG hit!) .
I suggest putting cow "spots" on the cowgirl cookie jars, unless you are a purist ( reg. JERSEY's) like our family.
Tomorrow, the bath fizzies.
SO smile,put on some Christmas music and get to bakin'....


run run as fast as you can..I'm NOT the gingerbread man

Chocbirdsongs Bizzie Lizzie

Chocolatebirdsongs Sunsinger (sunny)



Bizzie Lizzie is living up to her name, she should have been a thoroughbred, man can she run.
Chocbirdsongs Angelina Ballerina is expecting little ??? to arrive any day.
Christmas traditions are alive and well...
Farm funnies hubby and one grown young'un
stalked found and "bagged" the perfect tree for Christ-mas this year again WHEW!
I was the slacker. With achey bones and sore throat..I didn't make the donuts or hot cocoa,
nor did I budge beyond feeding horses and alpacas and breaking frozen water for our feathered flocks).
I even skipped out of going to a TSFL training and later our family Christ-mas reunion/potluck (about 40 of us).
The stockings aren't hung by the "chimney yet.
However one of farm funnies eager beaver book readers has finished reading our traditional Christ-mas book.
Each year we read The Substitute Guest by Grace Livingston Hill.
(YIKES I haven't started mine, but don't tell anyone! Yep we each have our own copy now)
I found humongous stockings at our local $ store..
I thought the ones I made were huge. I think a whole person could stand inside these.
I couldn't resist buying them, just to see the look on every ones faces. when they see how big they are..
We each buy little odds and ends throughout the year then sneakily fill each others stockings
(Substitue guest like).
Bath beads,potholders,socks, goodies ( I sometimes buy bulk treats of things we don't usually purchase. Nutter butter cookies, hostess jelly donuts ...TWINKIES ...etc.
I divide the "stuff" so each person gets just one ,or a couple depending on what it is.
Sometimes I make stuff too.
( I wrap these items in foil, both to save me time and to seal them.
I may use sandwich sized zip lock bags,but then those have to be wrapped, WHY?
For the fun of UNWRAPPING,of course.
I never lable any of the stocking gifts from farm funnies hubby or myself.
Some of the family members do.
(I think my foil wrapping "paper" is a dead give away from us anyhow...)
Tomorrow think of something fun, some small gift to make or ? (Come jan 1st, pardon the pun, start SOCKING it away for next Christ-mas..just remember where you hide the "stuff" :-)
Make or do something fun each day. I've made a couple of fleece pillows (no sewing required)
I filled 4 large shopping bags with 25 gifts inside each bag.I gave a bag to each of our grandkids for them to open 1 package a day ,Starting dec 1st until Jesus Birthday.
Cake and ice cream is a fitting birthday celebration breakfast.
I do include Monte Cristo's,sausage,bacon,waffles. This year I am leaning towards homemade blueberry muffins and popovers perhaps .( I am making my list and checking it twice)
Most of the gifts in the chidrens bags were small fun things to do, a color book,a snow shaker, penguin socks,wind up cars, color your own mug..
In a day or so I'll share a recipe for bath fizzies and scratch and sniff stickers...
No kids or spouse or family ?
No matter,just look around you, who can you be a blessing for?
Pretend you have a large family and then deliver "stuff"to someone who doesn't have much ,or to a shelter,church ,fire station or ?
Bake cookies for a whole gang,then ship them to our troops...they will love you for it..unless you are a really bad baker...then buy cookies and decorate them with tubes of ready made frosting...
You will be blessed for giving, trust me....
Remember you can send a free card in the mail to someone you care about,the treat is on me...
go to http://www.sendoutcards.com/27588 simply follow the directions virtual Kody tells you.
Whatever you do make this be the most memorable Christ-mas ever,then do more next year.
(notice I didn't say spend ,shop )







Friday, December 4, 2009

3 dog night...brrrr...it's cold outside recipies

It's freezing outside


The cats are snuggled down in the hay,
The ponies,alpaca's asleep are "tucked" in their stalls
On frozen puddles of water our little ducks and geese like to play
Whoosh,three dogs rushed in through the door and into our hall
While our turkeys and chickens are dreaming it would all go away
Farm funnies "dad" is fast asleep...now three dogs by the fire do keep
while farm funnies mom writes silly poems instead of counting sheep
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farm funnies hubby and one grown youngin'
go on their traditional annual perfect tree hunt tommorrow...
will they find it? Of course, they are brave and true..
hot cocoa and homemade donuts are suppose to great them on their return
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vovlFTMF_IQ

Below are links for some dog treats and a great donut making course


Treat link for the dogs..(kitties too) http://recipies.robbiehaf.com/pets/10.htm

Ed Chastains(well known donut baker) www.donutdvd.com
this is a fun video to watch, so much so that I bought Ed's donut making course...
I haven't tried any of his recipies yet, but don't they look good?
Ed also sent me a great recipie for a pumpkin donut. I wrote and told him ,he wasn't allowed to move away...we had just discovered him and had planned to make a donut foray on national donut day,only to disover Ed was moving.I hope many blessings follow Ed and his family.
You can possibly get some free recipes by going to Ed's baking club site http://www.proofandbake.com/members/donut enjoy...it's time to make the donuts :-)