And a quickie…

…spray paint project, that is. Get your head out of the gutter.

This sat on my parents’ counter when I was growing up. We kept silverware and napkins in it. But Mom actually put the silverware in a drawer a couple years ago and this has been hanging out collecting dust in my closet since I rescued it from her house.
I have a shortage of drawer space, so I turned it into this:

Two coats of primer, two coats of black, and I love it!

Linked up to:

Join us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!

Turkey Tuesday - Upgrade your meals with turkey!

Shape Up America! and the National Turkey Federation have put together 24 common meals using turkey, the perfect protein. For example, find out how to use turkey in your spaghetti and meatballs, or in easy breakfast meals.

Edited to add: I forgot I had this post all lined up and ready to go! Imagine my surprise when I saw it on my blogger dashboard! And it's on Wednesday. Ooops! Oh well, enjoy!

Turkey Tuesday

Another Turkey Tuesday already! Doing a weekly event like this really makes me realize how fast the time goes!

First, I want you to go check out this recipe!! It is from Maryann from Domestically Speaking and it is for Teriyaki Turkey Burgers! Mmm-hhhmmmm…as the little Adam Bomb would say. And it looks so easy and yummy!

(When I make burgers or meatloaf with ground turkey, I almost always add in some ground beef, too. Ground turkey is so lean, and sometimes you need a little grease, y’know? So, now I feel like a traitor.)

Second, let me show you what the Farmer and I did the other night. After the turkeys went to market, there were a few stragglers in the building. So the Farmer “took care of ‘em” and brought the breasts and filets in for me. There were 3 toms (males) and one hen, and we ended up with 7 breasts and 7 filets, I think. One of the breasts was pretty bruised up, so we didn’t freeze that one.

We don’t mess with any other body parts. Too much work to worry about feathers and bones.

Each breast is gigantic – probably 3-4 pounds EACH! The filets are part of the breast, and are slightly larger than a chicken breast. They are much more tender and we really enjoy them. I think they are usually called “tenders” in the grocery store. ( But I never actually buy turkey, so I’m not sure.)

The Farmer cut off the yuckies and I held the bags open and marked them. I’m a good helper like that.

In the end, it was 33 pounds of turkey! Free (ish.)

Now…I’m going to need some more creative turkey recipes.

Longest spray paint project EVER!

I don’t know how you all do it! Every painting project I do, spray or otherwise, takes me several days. I must be slower than beans!

Like this one for example. It took me a full week from first coat, to placement in my living room.

But it looks goooood. :)
I used to have this gigantic monstrosity of a coffee table. Much too big for my little room. It was at least 4 x 2.5 ft. And the top needed refinished. So because it was a gigantic monstrosity, and mission style, which doesn’t really “go” in my house, I’ve been on the lookout for something
a) smaller
b) with toy storage
c) that goes with my “tv stand.”
And I couldn’t find anything and got impatient. But then I remembered this ~~pretty~~ basket that I bought at an estate sale for $20 a few years ago.

It’s definitely smaller - 2.5 x 1.5 feet – maybe even a smidge small, decor wise, but… it obviously has storage. However, it did NOT match the TV stand. So I went to work.
Step 1: Prime with this stuff, which took me 2 days.

Step 2: Two coats of that Valspar stuff. (2 more days)
Step 3: Two coats of spray stain (have you ever seen this stuff before? Totally cool!) After I sprayed, I wiped it with an old sock. So there is more stain in the cracks. I wanted it to look less spray painted and more stained. It helped, but it still looks pretty spray painted in real life. (1 day, plus about 3 days drying time.)

And in the end, I have this! I am SOOO pleased with the way it turned out!

Total cost:
$20 Basket at estate sale several years ago (but at this point, I consider that free.)
$7.?? Spray stain (s0me leftover)
$4.?? Primer (and I used it all)
$3.?? Paint (I used all of this, too.)
$34 for a new coffee table with toy storage!

You know I’m linking this up to LOTS of parties on my side bar!!! Go check them out!

Here Comes the Sun...

Woohoo! I am excited and honored to be accepting this SUNSHINE AWARD!!

I received the nomination from Melissa over at From Here to Zerr. We are bloggy friends, but we actually have met in real life, too! She saw the title of my blog and came over to visit since she also lives near Squaw Creek. I looked at her picture and realized that we used to work together, kind of. We both worked for afterschool programs (daycare type program for school aged kids) but we worked at different sites. So we were at the same staff meetings, but didn't really get to know each other! That was several years ago...who would have known that we would meet up in bloggy world with VERY similar interests, and even decorating styles!
If you haven't been over there, check her out! Beautiful projects...I'm partial to her use of burlap and her little boy's room. So many great details!

Now, the rules of the award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog within your post.
2. Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received the award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you have received this award.

So here are MY nominees... some may have already received the award, but I'm going to nominate them anyway!

1. Craftastical!

I have been reading this blog for quite awhile because of Kara's FREE DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING kits. She comes out with a new one almost every week and they are compatible with Creative Memories' Software and other programs. She also has adorable kids, and adorable kid projects.

2. Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Megan was one of my first followers, and is also a fairly new blogger. She posts great kid projects, and lots of crafty, fun stuff!

3. Whimsi Kel - I met Kelli through New Friend Friday and decided to become a follower! Her ribbon pillow is my favorite!

4. All Things Home - Another of my first followers, Amy is always leaving the sweetest comments on my blog. She also has kiddos, and her blog is kind of like mine - a mish-mash of a lot of different things. Oh, and her dining room and kitchen are GORGEOUS!

5. Blue Clear Sky - Elizabeth posts GREAT inspiration pictures, and my favorite project is her ruffled table runner. So cute!

6. Cottage Dreamers - I just came across this blog recently and I LOVE what I've seen! Celeste and Jeff are just amazing, building a house by hand! You HAVE to check it out!

7. I am Momma, Hear Me Roar! - My favorite place for little BOY projects. Cheri uses bleach pens, freezer paper stencils, and embroidery floss to make her boys the cutest, most unique clothes!!! And it looks SOOO easy! I haven't copied any projects yet, but I have a few in mind that I want to do. And if you have kids, you HAVE to see her playroom!

8. Perfectly Imperfect
Shaunna has beautiful decor projects, and is thinking about starting up a linky for JUST DECOR related posts. I think it's a great idea for those of us that aren't quite so crafty!

9. Whisperwood Cottage
Another one of my first followers, and I was so honored! Amy has gorgeous decor related posts! Most recently, her vintage medical cabinet is PERFECT!

10. Show and Tell
If you haven't seen this blog, you HAVE to go check it out. Sausha is a fairly new blogger, but she is amazing. She works full time, has kids, and a husband in Iraq, and she still manages to get a TON of GORGEOUS projects done!

11. Goodeness Gracious
Just some great, everyday, life with kids stuff. AND Cris leaves GREAT comments. :)

12. All Thingz Related - Three Sisters in Law with a TON of creativity! AND, they have a linky party with the fun little thumbnails. It's new, and still intimate, without a million links, which I love.

So there you have it! Twelve blogs that I think deserve a SUNSHINE award. Now I'm off to notify them all!

Turkey Tuesday – To Market, To Market…

So what if it’s actually Wednesday? Details, details…

Actually, I knew what I wanted to post, but I wasn’t able to get pictures until today.

One of our flocks goes to market tonight. They are somewhere around 20 weeks old (I can’t remember exactly, should have asked hubby.)

The first half went out last night. Ten semi loads. Average weight per turkey was just over 44 lbs. That is a GREAT weight! (And we are paid per pound.) I would love to show you a pic of the birds at this age, but I just couldn’t get a good one. Maybe next time. :)

The loading crew starts around 8 PM. Hubby helps them. Last night, he came in, showered, and stumbled up to bed at 3 AM. (I say “stumbled” because I heard every move he made. Apparently too tired to be quiet.)

I’ve never watched them do this, because quite frankly, 44 lb, aggressive, waist high birds kind of scare me. But this is my understanding: there are a few guys who “herd” the turkeys by waving plastic feed sacks at them.

Then, they put them on this “escalator” that takes them to the truck.

And the truck takes them to the meat packing plant.

Which processes the meat and sends it to Subway (and some other places.) Yeah, seriously. Our plant supplies all of Subway’s turkey west of the Mississippi River. So eat turkey at Subway!

This is one of our 4 finishers, where the turkeys live from 6 weeks of age to market age (around 20 weeks…sometimes more or less depending on conditions of the flock.)

This whole process occurs about once every 9 weeks. Then, after the flock is processed and whatnot, we get a check! That’s right, my hubby, the Farmer, gets paid approximately once every 2 months.

But better than this: …which was going on across the road, and only happens once a year. No wonder farm families are so frugal. It’s hard to make a budget when there are so many variables.

So there was another glimpse into the life of a turkey farmer (and his family.) I can hear the first semi pulling away right now. They kept waking me up last night, but I really shouldn’t complain, should I?

Got any turkey related questions for future Turkey Tuesday posts?

My lil bro’ made this!

My brother, a junior in high school (the blond) and the other two main characters made this movie for their TAG class. I think it’s pretty awesome! It’s definitely worth watching – funny with a clever plot!

And the blonde girl at the end is my cousin, Maddie. Isn’t she a doll?

I’m so proud of these kids! When their friends are out partying and getting into trouble, this is what they’re doing! Can I say it enough? I am PROUD!

Rock ‘n Roll

(Edited to add that I'm linking up here: http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com)
When we built our turkey buildings, there were all kinds of huge, gorgeous rocks that appeared during the dirt work. And we asked the construction company to leave them for us. And they loaded them up and took them away. Stinkers.
But we still had this one. :)

So late Sunday afternoon, my husband loaded it up using the ~~love of his life~~ Bobcat S250 and brought it across the field to our driveway.

He took out the “triangle garden.”

And moved the rock into place.

We’re going to put our last name, with Est. 2006 on the rock. I’m going to use black Patio Paint and paint it on.
(By the way, see my house’s black eye? You can actually see it from the highway, .4 mile away. Classy, huh? Unfortunately, siding is a 2 man job and 1 man (hubby) is very busy. Someday…)

In the mean time, Adam Bomb and I worked on this mess. This is what’s leftover from ONE of the THREE large areas of our yard that we had to dig up last fall. This is one is from a water line. See the blue flags in the picture above? That’s where the water meter will go, conveniently in the lee of the rock. :)

So I raked and Adam picked up rocks. He was a pretty good little helper.

After the rocks were picked up well enough to get the hubby’s approval. We spread some grass seed. I used a big cup to spread it around, and Adam helped with that, too. He was actually pretty good at shaking it out of the cup and spreading it! The whole time, he said, “I poe, I poe,” and we thought it meant, “I pour.” But he hasn’t stopped saying it, and says it anytime he wants to do something by himself. Weirdo.

And in the end, we had this:

Not great, but it is an improvement!

And our lilac is budding. I can’t wait for it to bloom!

Brown Paper Packages Mother's Day Party

Brown Paper Packages Mother's Day Party

Kierste, over at Brown Paper Packages, is hosting a linky just for Mother's Day Projects. I think this is SUCH a great idea that I am linking up! I linked this old silhouette project that uses Storybook Creator Plus.

Go on over and check out the adorable projects!

Wooden Puzzle Storage

I’m so proud of myself. Wanna know why? I thought this up ON MY OWN! I didn’t steal this idea from anyone. I don’t have a lot of original ideas, so I’m pretty excited!

I know I wasn’t the only one with this problem. My son LOVES his wooden puzzles, but we didn’t have a good way to store them. Up until now, they’ve had their own box, and we just dump out all the pieces into the bottom of the box, and then stack the puzzles on top. Which means we have to sort pieces everytime we want to play.
So, I started looking online for some puzzle storage. I found this option:

(Amazon) But I don’t want to pay $30.
And then I saw this one:

(Amazon) Only $11. Much better. But it looks oddly like this:

And I’ve got no less than 3 of these in my house. This one fell out of the cabinet under the sink the other day, and hadn’t been jammed back in yet.
But it needed a little tweaking. Some of the puzzles were too thick. And the rack things were tilted so the puzzles didn’t sit right.
So a little easy bending and I had this:

And now, this!

And just because I can, I’m going to include some pictures of what happened in the 2 minutes it took me to bend those racks. I had set for this “photo shoot” in the dining room, and my sweet Adam decided it was time to “hide.”