How to Blow Out Eggs

Just in time for Easter!

After several years of trying different methods, I think this is the method that works quickest and best for me.  Here's what you need:

1.Duck eggs. You can do it with chicken eggs, but they are far more fragile, so you will have to take more time.

2.A large syringe and needle. I use a 60cc syringe and a 14 gauge needle. I bought mine from my vet.

3. A bowl of clean water.

4. Play dough or something similar. We had made salt play dough this week and it worked great.

Step 1. Push down firmly on one end of the egg. Your needle should be very sharp and will go through smoothly.  Chip around the hole with the needle until it is about 1/4 inch. Hold with hole on the bottom and poke around inside the egg a few times to break the yolk.

You can try to make a smaller hole than this, but I go for speed and efficiency.

Step 2. Pull back the syringe to fill with air. On the opposite end of the egg, push through the shell with the needle. Apply firm pressure and the white and yolk will come out of the other, larger hole. This is where is is easy to fill chicken eggs with too much pressure and they will explode on you.

Step 3. Fill the syringe with clean water. Spray this into the egg to rinse the inside.

Step 4. Using a small ball of the play dough as to help seal your smaller hole, fish the syringe with air and push this into the egg to remove any remaining water or white/yolk.

Step 5. Place eggs in carton, large hole side down, with paper towel underneath. This will help it to drain and  dry quickly.

Now you are ready to dye!

Emptying the eggs this way will make them last for years. It is so neat to have bowls of these around the house at Easter time. And so many wonderful memories are attached to them too.

Operation Organize!

My story started as the typical romance fairy tale.

I met my soul mate, we fell in love. Got married, bought a house. Everything was clean and shiny. Everything had a place. We had a miscarriage, but shortly after along came our first child. I delighted in washing, folding and neatly organizing all of her tiny pink clothes. Then somewhere in between losing a second child, having a very uncomfortable 4th pregnancy, giving birth to our other wonderful daughter, the onset of chronic pain and homeschooling, I lost control. Oh every now and then I would tackle an area that I could no longer function in. And we clean. But it's often the "company's coming" type of cleaning. You know, where you clean the  main areas, then stash and dash all of the rest into a room and close the door. I'm not saying we live in filth. It's just clutter. And now that my girls are big enough to help me with the maintenance, it is the perfect time to change that.

The first step I made was to create and inventory of my house. You see, I need to feel a real return on my investment, and what better than to be able to make a check mark. Well, actually several check marks would be better.

I have literally broken down every room in the house into areas that I will be able to clean and organize, a bit at a time. The task doesn't seem overwhelming because I'm not trying to organize the whole house all at once. We have a few days off for Easter break, so I am tackling my most frustrating areas in fairly large chunks. After that, one item a day will be my goal. And I think that's very do-able.

Today: The dreaded Tupperware cupboard, and the kitchen counters. See Exhibits A & B below.

And the cup cupboard. Wait, that's like a duplicate. The cup boards? Aw, heck. The cabinet that contains the cups.

I swapped out these two cupboards to give better flow, but it also seems to add a further sense of newness.  After 10 years of going to the same cabinet to get my cups, it has made for an interesting afternoon.

All of my kitchen counters are now clear, clean and make me smile. In fact I think I'll go back to the kitchen to admire them again right now.

Much better!

And best of all, apart from a few papers that I need to work on, everything else on the counters was addressed, cleaned and found a home for. Check, check, check.

Really, I am smiling at my kitchen counters. And I think they may be smiling back.

Squash Soup

One of my all time favorites. It is very rich and I always eat too much.

Ingredients:

1 Acorn Squash, microwaved until tender, scoop out flesh

3/4 cup Carrots, microwaved until tender

2 cups hot Vegetable Broth 

3/4 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (Or Coconut Milk)

1 tsp Curry Powder

1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

1/2 tsp Corriander Powder

1 tsp Salt 

1/2 tsp Pepper

Put hot vegetable broth and coconut in the blender and blend. (For a smoother soup, you could use coconut milk instead of shredded coconut, but I liked it as is).

Add the acorn squash, carrots and spices.

Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Pink Grapefruit

I don't like grapefruit, except like this.

1 Pink Grapefruit, cut in half. Slice down each side of the segment membranes to make for easy removal later. Place on a cookie sheet. Set oven to broil with oven rack in top position.

Drizzle each half with a teaspoon or so of honey. Put under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. Take out and immediately sprinkle with salt (about 1/2 tsp each). So good!

Brownies My Way

Even I was surprised as to how good these turned out. You can't eat these and expect them to taste exactly like a store brand box mix, but they are smooth and chocolaty, and work really well for a sweet treat when using the Paleo diet.

Ingredients:

8oz Creamy Roasted Almond Butter

2 Eggs

1 1/2 cups Honey

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Avocado, mashed

3/4 cup Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Almond Flour

1 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

1/2-1 cups Dark Chocolate, chopped (I used Green & Black's Organic 85% Cacao)

In a large bowl, blend almond butter, eggs, honey, vanilla and avocado, using an electric mixer. In a small bowl, mix cocoa powder, salt, almond flour, and coconut with a fork. Add to almond butter mixture and blend further with the mixer or by hand. Stir in chopped chocolate.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and back at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Flash, making sure I was doing it right.

Smoked Salmon Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

Ingredients:

3 Portabello Mushrooms, stems removed. Gills removed if desired.

1 Small Zucchini, diced

1 Tomatillo, diced

1/2 Small Onion, diced

2 Garlic Cloves, sliced or crushed

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp Oregano

2oz Smoked Salmon

Saute zucchini, tomatillo, onion, garlic, basil and oregano in olive oil until soft. Put them in a food processor with the smoked salmon and pulse until blended. Sprinkle olive oil on the tops of the mushrooms and put on a cookie sheet, gill side down. Put under broiler for 3-5 minutes. Take out, turn over. Sprinkle inside with salt and pepper and then fill with the salmon mixture. Put back under broiler for another 3-5 minutes.

This was a very tasty and filling alternative to one of my favorite dishes. If I was not on the Paleo diet, the only thing I would change is to add cream cheese. Because what's better than smoked salmon and cream cheese. Other than strawberries and cream. Or chocolate and...well, anything.

Wisdom

I have a couple of homeschooling ideas that I wanted to share with you today. The first is a state quarter map. I bought these books years ago, way before the girls were old enough to do anything with them. The other day I decided to pull them out, along with a big jar of coins we've been saving. I had the girls sort the quarters first, and then divide the quarters into regular issue, and state quarters. Then they found the states in their book and placed the quarters in their spot. It was a great way for them to identify where the states are, and a few facts about them. Some books have more info in them, some less. You can get these books through Amazon like this one, and some hobby stores also carry them. 

Through our jar, they have the book about half way filled, leaving plenty for them to keep their eyes open for in the future.

The other thing is a book by Jennie Bishop called "The Princess and the Kiss". It is a delightful tale of a princess finding her true love with the underlying theme of purity. It also has an accompanying "Life Lessons" book that helps to solidify in a young girl the notion that her kiss (heart, purity) is precious and should not be given lightly and without determining whether the match be God's will.

It's a light-hearted book, and the discussions can be lighter or deeper depending on the age of the child. The Life Lessons book also has activities and craft suggestions, which my girls are always in favor of.

There is also a version for boys called "The Squire and the Scroll", which I would be really interested to read at least. And I would like to know if any of you have sons that you are doing this program with. I will be making a list of their names for later. :)

And I don't think it's ever too soon to tell my girls that to God, they are precious princesses. It may not stop them from making every mistake when they are older, but if it saves them even a little heartache, it will be well worth it.

Why?

So, the other day my cousin posed the question of why I had started the Paleo diet. Little did she know what a loaded question that was.

It's because of this.

Ok, so not just because of that. But that is a representation of my life. It's all good stuff, but it's chaos.

I also have chronic SI joint syndrome. Which means pain every day. And I have been receiving a variety of treatments for it, and all I can do now is wait and see if they will help. I just don't know. And there's nothing I can do about it. Even if it helps, there are many things I will never be able to do again without risk of putting myself right back where I started. And that doesn't help the chaos.

So, I am having to reinvent my life. I am going to take all of the stuff that drives me crazy or that I'm doing wrong or that I simply need to do differently, and fix it. There is SO much about my life that I already love, and this will make it that much better. And I believe it is about being obedient to God, and taking care of that which he has assigned to me. But it won't happen overnight. It is going to take months, maybe longer. And the Paleo diet is simply where I have chosen to start. I need more energy, and I need to lose weight, and I'm an all or nothing kind of gal. So Paleo it is. I don't plan to stay on it forever, but I do hope it will change how I eat long term.

This blog is a record of my journey to find peace through the chaos. This blog is all of my creativity, frustration, faith, ideas and photos all rolled into one.

I Ate a Burger and I Liked It

First of all, I have to explain that I have been a vegetarian for 20+ years, although I do eat seafood. Nothing with fur or feathers has been my rule. Not because of health reasons or because I don't like the taste, or because I don't think people should eat meat. Because I do. It's because I see body parts when I look at meat and I just can't stomach the thought of putting that in my mouth. But I love to cook it. I love creating recipes and getting positive feedback from my family. I still remember what each type of meat tastes like, so I season and prepare based on that memory. I think my discerning husband would agree that I do a decent job.

So, on this Paleo diet I am not allowed to have beans of any type, or dairy. That's likely where 50% of my protein usually comes from. Apparently my body rebelled against this lack of this body-sustaining nutrient and I started to crave meat. Not turkey, pork or chicken. That still has me nauseous at the thought. I wanted red meat...give me the beeefff! Not a slab of steak mind you, no, I wanted it ground up so it didn't look like a cows muscle stripped from its hind end somewhere. So I pulled a precooked hamburger patty out of the freezer, zapped it in the microwave and ate it. Yes, I did. And it was good. So there. 

Now before you carnivores cheer and pat me on the back to welcome me home into the barbecue eating fold, just know that I was equally disgusted with myself at the same time. So, tonight I made a tuna salad and felt slightly more like me. But I'm not saying I won't ever do it again.

Tuna, Olive Oil, Green Olives, Sundried Tomatoes & Avocados on a bed of Lettuce

Sunshine and Midnight

We have had some poor health issues on the homestead lately.

Firstly, our elderly, one-time alpha rooster had been attacked so badly by his younger counterpart that he was blinded in one eye. Fortunately for him, my eldest daughter wants to be a vet. She promptly set him up in an unused dog pen, giving him loads of attention, including a ride in her wagon. I'm certain that lifted his spirits. Lots. She then picked him out a hen. Then she put him on top of the hen so they could be "married". After I explained that he might not be in the mood, being recently blinded and beat up, she gave him a respite.

Sunshine, the Bantam Cochin Rooster

The Happy Couple (His Wife, the Bantam Silkie)

The Even Happier Bully and His Harem

And then, yesterday I also had the Equine Vet make a visit. Our Racking Horse mare has been limping off and on for several months, but her lameness recently became much more pronounced. I have very specific opinions about vets, having worked for one for 9 years. I liked this guy. A lot. He explained everything as he examined it and was really clear in his diagnosis. Plus, my good friend at Synergy Performance Horses recommended him, so he has to be the best. Her horses are spoiled. If I believed in reincarnation, I would want to be one of her horses in the next life. Apart from the whole exercise thing. Maybe she'd let me skip that.

Anyway, the vet feels my mare likely has arthritis in her shoulder from a severe injury as a baby, and ring bone (from arthritis) in her pastern joint on the same foot. We are trying her on pain medication. Bottom line, she gets to remain a yard ornament. Darn. There go my dreams to start barrel racing.

Dakota (aka Kody) and Midnight Summer Dream (aka Mindy)

I think she makes a very decorative yard ornament. Better than a gnome. Or one of those flamingo windmills.  By far.

And spring is here! The peach tree is blooming, the birds are singing, and love is in the air! Just ask Sunshine.  ;)

Paleo Diet Day 6

I told my loving husband today more of the details of this diet I am on. He really doesn't care what I eat as long as I continue to cook his meat and potatoes. Besides, he's used to me eating differently due to my vegetarian tendencies. So, he did ask me how I was doing on it. Well, honestly, really well. I'm eating tons, I'm never actually hungry, I don't miss anything, and I have lost 6 lbs in 6 days. Not to shabby at all.

Brunch Today: Eggs scrambled with tomatoes, peppers, spinach and cayenne.

Time for a Change

For the past 3 years we have started every school day with a bible study lesson from Grapevine Studies, and the kids have loved every minute of it. But, after having gone through both the Old and New Testament studies 3 times over, I decided to look for something a little different.

Now, I am not a fan of devotionals that take scripture out of context and attempt to relate them to some fictional, however touching, modern day story. Finding something that would keep both of my 6 year old and 9 year old happy, while focusing on the bible itself, not interpretations of it, was going to be difficult. However, while searching through Peace Hill Press's website to order the next level of our language arts program, I came upon their religious program, Telling God's Story. Since one of the collaborators is Susan Wise Bauer, whom I'm a fan of, I promptly ordered the Parent Guide Book, the Year One Book and it's companion Activity Book. So far, the girls LOVE it.

The focus is on Jesus, which I like. They are short, which I like since I have a 6 year old whose focus I need to keep. And the activities provide solidification of each lesson through fun crafts and games, which all three of us love.  A consider this a huge score in our homeschooling endeavors!

You're eating what???

So, I decided that one of the first things I needed to change were my eating habits. And then a sweet friend of mine, Heather, mentioned on Facebook that she was going back on the Paleo diet because it had made her feel so much better. Following some quick research, I discovered that this diet excludes all grains, legumes including peanuts, potatoes, dairy and refined sugar. Well, that sums up about 95% of my typical diet. Considering a diet that relies heavily on meat would also be a challenge to this vegetarian (who occasionally eats seafood). But, eggs are allowed, and since my hens are laying over a dozen daily, that was a plus.

So, after a trip to the grocery store and stocking up on lots of fresh fruits, veggies and a few specialty items such as almond flour, I am on my way to a healthier me. :)  My first step was to make a big bag of Superfood Salad that I had recently seen on The Reluctant Entertainer.  So I had that last night with some tomato, avocado and a great dressing I found that fit the rules.

This morning I got up a baked a loaf of Paleo bread. Since my oldest was sick, it had delayed our school anyway, and I was able to afford the time to bake. It turned out well and I actually found it quite tasty.

And for dinner I created a recipe that included roasted eggplant stuffed with green peppers, sundried tomatoes, olives and oyster mushrooms.  A piece of baked tilapia on the side, and I am one happy chickie.

My goal is to try this diet for one month. After that I will try adding dairy back since that is what I am missing the most. But, in the meantime, I am drinking loads of water, herbal tea and enjoying the change. I'll keep you posted on how this goes - whether I'm able to stick with it for more than 5 days (that pizza is calling me from the freezer), whether I lose any weight, and if I actually feel "better". I suspect exercise might actually have to be involved, but I'm not rushing to any desperate measures...yet.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Maybe it is the rain.  Maybe it's because I'm recovering from a busy weekend away. Maybe it's because one of our closest friends had to have surgery to remove a brain tumor today. Or because one of my best friends is having an extremely difficult battle with breast cancer. Or because I am dealing with chronic back pain and the awful treatments I've been having are proving unsuccessful. Maybe it's because my life feels like utter chaos.  Whatever the reason, my heart is heavy, this day is gray and all of my paths seem unclear.

So what do we do in times of stress?  When nothing is actually wrong, but the correct direction is uncertain? I am frozen in my frustration, on the verge of depressed discouragement. But I know that this is how the enemy attacks us. He tries to weaken us, stop us from being effective. He brings about confusion to deafen us to the still, small voice that whispers to our soul. So I will pray, and I will sing praises unto Him who gave me breath this day. I will be still and know that He is God. And then I will take one step forward. Any direction is fine, for I know where the Spirit dwells and I need not be afraid. And I am thankful, so very thankful, for the abundance of good in my life.