Hey Chicks

Over here at the Neal house, we have a thing for chickens.  And eggs.

A couple of years ago, my husband built a pretty nifty indoor/outdoor chicken coop and since then we've had chickens and fresh laid eggs.

We find chickens, oddly, relaxing.  They are not the sharpest tools in the shed, but they are incredibly social and are fascinating to watch. 

Did you know that chickens don't move in the dark?  One night we had them loose in the backyard and forgot about them, so they couldn't get back in the coop.  We got out our flashlight to find them.

They were just a few feet from the coop, nestled on a step.  We tried to direct them to the open door, but they would not move.  We had to carry them in.  I think they were ticked at us!

One of our favorite ways to hold these chicks, is upside down.  If you hold them like that and press your finger gently on their breast they go to sleep.

  

Last year we got an Ameraucana breed.  It lays blue eggs.  So pretty.  I like to collect these over a week and gift a basket of blue eggs for a special treat.

Ameraucanas are beautiful birds with fluffy cheeks.

It's almost spring and the chicks, ducks and turkeys are in your local farmer supply stores.  It's a a fun place to visit even if you don't raise chickens, especially with little children.

We are down to 2 chickens and with Ethan back home I've actually had to buy eggs from Costco!  That boy can eat!

So, we went chick shopping.

Came home with 3 leghorns (they are totally white and are awesome layers), another Ameraucana, a sexlink (yup, that is what they are called...it's the tan one) and a black austrolorp (just to keep thing interesting). 


We'll be swimming in eggs come summer, as it takes about 5 months before they start.

In the meantime, we get to enjoy this little sweeties.  We all have the responsibilty to handle the chicks everyday.  This 'tames' them.  They are already sprouting feathers on their wings and are just TOO adorable.

Picture Perfect Winter Wonderland

I've been holding on to this picture for a while now, just waiting, with baiting breath for the first snow of the season...well, it finally arrived.  This morning!

It's that perfect, softly falling, fluffy, large, super white flakes, covering everything in picture perfect winter wonderland. 

A few days ago Savannah came to me, pointed out the window and said "what is WRONG with this picture??  It's December and we still don't have any snow!"  She was pretty ticked.  But this morning, she burst into our room with a big smile on her face.  She is a happy girl and so am I.

Did you know that only 25% of the country even has snow right now?  That is just tragic!  So, hopefully my little snowman/puppy picture will make up for it.  Super cute, eh? (no, they are not mine).

A quick poll

<Would you take a quick minute to answer these poll questions for me. If you have any additional comments, please leave them on this post or email me. Always love to hear from you.

pollcode.com free polls

Would you be interested in going on a paper crafting cruise

Yes No Maybe

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Where would you prefer to cruise?

Mexican Riviera (port out of Los Angeles or San Diego) Caribbean (port out of Florida)

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What do you prefer to paper craft?

Cards Scrapbook Pages Mini Albums Home Decor Party Ensembles Gift packaging Anything!

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What kind of cards do you need the most?

Birthday Thank you Christmas Sympathy Cards for men Cards for youth Cards for children Friendship Generic Graduation Encouragement Other holidays

Where do you prefer to paper craft?

In a classroom environment at home, by yourself at home, with friends Anywhere at all!

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Do you go to card classes to

make cards and then give them away have some creative time learn new techniques get ideas to then make more cards have fun and be social All of the above

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If Q's Creative Cards had online classes would you

take them in addition to being in the classroom take them instead of being in the classroom would not be interested

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TSC Walk - Big Thanks!

  

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day for both the Race for the Cure and the TSC walk here in Salt Lake City. 

Savannah enjoyed being there and seeing families from all over Utah who share the same issues she does.

One of the things I learned this weekend is that Tuberous Sclerosis is the leading genetic cause for Austism and Epilepsy and that donations to TSC helps research into these areas as well.

I want to thank all of you for your kindness, encouragment and donations too... We raised almost $500! You can still donate online if you missed it.

Cure Tuberous Sclerosis!

On May 7th, our family will be participating in a 5K walkathon to raise funds for TSC (Tuberous Sclerosis) research.

Why?

The first time we heard of TSC was when our 1-year-old daughter, Savannah, was diagnosed with it in 1997. Today, (despite a frightening few first years of her life) Savannah is a happy, healthy 15-year-old but will spend her life and possibly the life of her children dealing with the challenges of this condition.

We are hoping on raising $1000! If only 100 of our friends just donate $10 each we'll make it!


Even if you can't make a donation, please take a moment to learn more about this condition by visiting our personal fundraising page for Tuberous sclerosis complex.

Please share this page with your friends! 

Last "List" update

I'm amazed at how quickly my "break" came and went. This will be my last "list' update and as you can see, I did NOT get everything done. But you know, I got a lot done and I got the most important things done. So, I'm happy.

But I'm not giving up on those 'other' things...in fact I'm hoping I can cross a few more things off my list this week, despite my classes starting. I'm remarkably organized this month and should find time to do some extra things.

I will say that quite a few of the items unmarked on my list are about half-way done, but just couldn't bring myself to mark them off until they are completely done. Don't you just LOVE that feeling?

I'm almost done with my son's book, my office is SO much better (but needs so much more work), Have partly planned our itinerary for our summer trip and am almost done Stacy's album. Whew!

My very first fondant-ed cake. Not very exciting, I know, but I was thrilled. My poor family. I experimented on my daughter-in-laws birthday cake. I didn't have time to decorate it...just seeing if I can cover it. By the way, candles stick very nicely into fondant. Stay tuned for experiment 2.

So, here's a few pictures to illustrate what I did do... Got all my husband's party invites made and sent. Can I just saw how much I love Photoshop?

Just a fraction of my May kits...isn't that a beautiful thing!

Another photoshop project for my Daughter's grade 8 graduation. I did, however, cut the lightblub out, chalked the 'shine' and adhered the lightbulb with a foam square, so at least there was a little papercrafting going on!

Looking forward to seeing many of you again this week and the next. Have a great week!

The List: 2nd update

I'm sure you're fully expecting that my list is complete, considering how little I blogged this week...but no, it's still there and only 3 weeks left! On top of that I've had to start a sub-list...things I forgot to put on the original list, but I simply won't bore you with that. Suffice it to say, I'm really even more productive that it looks! :)

Ok, well. Maybe I'll share one thing from that sub-list. Chicks! Or, as I like to call them...mini chickens! We've been talking about getting some for years and for some reason my husband actually did this year, despite the fact we didn't even have a coop!

Let me introduce them to you. Squeekers is a Leg Horn (ya know...fog horn, leg horn?). Pure white and originally from Tuscany, Italy! She is our skittish one with super flying skills...has already escaped once.

Next is Lucy. A Rhode Island Red that reminded me of Lucille Ball. She's the curious one and will peck at anything that moves! She is, however, the only one that will play dead when she is held on her back.

Lastly, the sweetest of the bunch is Buffy. She is a Buff Orlington and such a pretty buff color.

I'm looking forward to farm fresh eggs in a few months!

Having spent 2 years in Belguim and France, my husband's eye was caught while driving in Salt Lake City last year as we drove by Bruges; this tiny little waffle and fries shop.

To celebrate getting the condo done (by the way, it's rented!), I took my Mom there last week and this is what we had for lunch: Frites (french fries, made the Belguim way) and a Liege Waffle with icecream and fresh strawberries. Oh my. It was so delicious.


Aren't these flowers just a little piece of heaven? I finally got these in on Saturday with a little help from a friend. I forgot just how tiring gardening can be and promptly fell asleep afterward.

I'll give you just a sneak peek of the photos we took of Emma for her wedding invites. Oh my goodness...we had SO much fun. What an adventure. I'll show you more later.

I promise to be more productive this week in the blogging department, so check back often and have a great week!

See my original LIST posts here and here.

The List: First update

Thought you might want to see my progress on 'the list'.

Not bad actually. However, as the time slips by I have these mini panic attacks that I won't finish it all!!! Even though, realistically, I know it's unlikely. But I'm very much a glass half-full kind of gal.

Kind of a big deal for us was getting my Mom's US Citizenship papers off! She's been living here for five years now and is excited to become a true part of this great country...and be a little closer to her daughter :).

The other thing we've been working on is updating her condo in Salt lake. Her renters moved out and we're doing some updating. Anyone need a cute little condo downtown SLC, right above the Gateway?

Got a great deal on a leather sofa from RC Willey and added a bright, but hopefully generic touch of yellow to brighen everything up. Can I say how much I love IKEA? Such amazing deals there!

Here's my exhausted hubster, Steve after mounting the new flat screen. The joke in the Piereder family is when you visit "Oma" (my mom) you move heavy things and eat well! No cooking this time, but we did get a yummy lunch from a deli.

It's hard to believe and definately strange that I haven't 'created' anything with paper in over a week. I think I will just have to find a moment to play. Hope you do too!

The List

There are few things more satisfying than crossing things off a list.

I've created such a life-changing list that it is now referred to in our home as "THE LIST". Yes, in capital letters.

Life-changing because so many of these items are things I've been meaning to do for, yes, I'm embarrassed to say, 2 years! I'm dreamy at the thought of how peaceful my sleep will be when every item is crossed off!

I have 6 weeks and yes, I realize it's an almost impossible goal to cross every item off of this list, but I'd be happy with 75%!

I'm sharing this personal list with you because, ONE, it's the reason I'm not teaching this month and I thought my students might appreciate knowing exactly why. TWO, it's highly motivational when you share your goals. I'll be posting a weekly LIST cross off and you can help me celebrate my progress! Maybe you can even join me!

So, as you can see, I've already crossed off two items. That doesn't seem like much over the course of a week, but believe me, that bathroom renovation just about did me in. And as silly as it seems, re-doing the arrangement on my table has just brightened my spirits! I've had the same drab colors on that table for years and it really needed a face-lift.

And guess what happened while I was writing this blog this morning? My Mom arrived! A little earlier than expected, but so happy to see her. That is one item on my list that I will not be so happy to cross off.

Happy day to you all!

You know you can't live...

without your computer when you're willing to spend $$ to overnight a part. Well, my pocketbook and looming Christmas expenses made me think twice. So, good sense has returned, but now I'm without a computer... until Wednesday!

So, no blogging until then! I'll pick winners on Wednesday and post a new give-away then...so stay tuned. Sue

Voting is Sexy?

Really? Are YOU sure?

Yes, I know I already did my civic duty and blogged about voting, but I found this fun image on my friend, Heather's blog and could NOT resist. It's much cooler than my VOTE image!

So, me this morning voting? No shower. Flip-flops. Sweats. nice black shirt & nice black jacket. LOL I was hoping everyone would be distracted by my top half and not notice the bottom half!

The things I do to avoid waiting in line.

what YOU can do for your country

It's a lovely dark and dismal day today here in Utah. Grey clouds are hanging low, revealing just the tops of the mountains, covered in snowy white.

It may seem strange, but when you live in a state this sunny, you relish this kind of weather. In the summer, when it rains (if it rains) we run to the front door to watch and then come back in when it's gone, usually a few minutes.

This morning I woke up at 6:30, popped out of bed, found my husband (already hard at work in his office) and said "let's go vote!".

We actually tried to vote early all last week, but everytime we went by the library, the lines were so long! I think we lucked out this morning, the lines were long, but we only waited 30 minutes. I got my sticker, proudly slapped it on my jacket and went home. Yeah! And so begins the end of a very, very, very long campaign.

"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." ~ John F. Kennedy

gO vOTE!

the up-side to being sick

catching up on this season's epidsodes of House.

~Sue

I think I'm SO smart

And then something proves that I'm not. I thought I would pre-write a couple of blog posts before my trip so I could post them in St. Paul.

Problem is (and maybe you expert bloggers out there can help me) they posted in the order I created them...so they're not showing up on top.

Bummer! So, please scroll down a bit to see my CANADIAN CHOCOLATE BAR GIVE-AWAY!!!

Sue