Territorial Chickens

I have some of the strangest animals. First of all, I have to start by explaining the habits of my chickens. I have 5 roosters and 2 hens. When we are home to watch them, we will let them out of their coop and instantly run to the front horse paddock to pick through the manure. I can't complain. They do a great job spreading the manure for me and keeping the bug population down. My guess is that they are actually looking for left over grain that has passed through the manure. There is one big, black rooster who is certainly the head of the flock. He will watch the flock, crow when he can't see any of the chickens, and herd them to where he wants them to go. He will usually keep the flock in the front paddock or under the Gardenia hedge. Occationally they will also wonder over to the side paddock to clean up the manure there. When the sun goes down, he will make sure they all go back to the coop where they belong.

So Sunday night I decided to ride Lilly, who happens to live in that front paddock. We are riding around the pen when this black rooster comes over to check us out. He then proceeds to come inside the round pen and chase us around the circle. Matt and I were cracking up laughing. I can only guess that he considers Lilly to be part of his flock and he felt that she needed to go to the coop with the rest of the flock. He even went back to the coop and came running back to the pen when we continued riding. He then stood in the middle of the ring and started crowing at us. It had to be one of the funniest things I've seen these chickens do yet. He wasn't be agressive and he kept his distance from her hooves, but he was running at us like he does when he wants the rest of the chickens to move a certain direction. I just wish we could have gotten it on video. He did eventually go back to the coop and leave us alone, but you could tell that he was very upset that we were not with the rest of the flock. Silly birds.

Personal Perspectives

I am quickly becoming more and more disappointed with the attitudes fostered in the military today. It’s the mentality that if you aren’t skinny and can’t run well, then there must be something wrong with you as a person. I am beginning to come across this attitude more and more these days. Many of the people I meet are vein and superficial. Their attitude extends beyond the reach of other military members, but to the general public as well. Are they so conceited to overlook how privileged they are? Not everyone works for an employer who gives them a free gym membership and time off from work to workout. Not everyone lives 5 minutes from work and has the extra time in the day to dedicate to fitness. And, even more incredibly, not everyone chooses running as their hobby of choice. There are many, many ways to be fit and healthy without running a step. And what about those of us that are trying? Has it been so long since you've gotten into running that you forget that not everyone can run a 9 minute mile? And, please, spare me your pat on the back. I don't do any of this for your approval.

There are also many circumstances that may have lead to people not being as fit and skinny as you think they should be. To blame their condition solely on laziness is simply arrogance on your part. I’m not even talking about people who blame their thyroid or genetics as you are so often to dismiss as excuses. There are thousands of people in this country who suffer from back and joint problems which restrict their mobility. They fight every day to get back of piece of what you so arrogantly take for granted. There are also those who have gone through surgery after surgery and several periods of bed rest to fix a problem that doctors can’t even diagnose. Each time it gets more and more difficult to regain their strength, not to mention their motivation. Who are you to judge these people when you know nothing about them or their situation? And, no, that does not mean that you have a right to know their whole personal history. You deal with your life. Let them deal with theirs.

Likewise, I’ve seen this same attitude towards people in debt. Some of these people forget that from the time they came into the service most of their expenses were either covered or discounted. They didn’t have to worry about covering college expenses that were not covered by financial aid or even the added expense of living in the dorms. They never had to worry about being laid off or taking a pay cut. They’ve led a reasonably sheltered life. Granted, there are those military members who have debt and struggle like the rest of us, but there are a great many more who take for granted the good fortune that has been handed to them, albeit at a price. It simply adds insult to injury when one of these service members looks down their nose at someone who is working diligently, in a down economy, to get out of debt because, in their mind, the individual wasn’t “smart enough” to stay out of debt in the first place.

Do not presume to think that you are better than me because I do not choose your lifestyle.

And while we are on the subject of lifestyles, the way I choose to live my life is my choice. It may be different from yours, but that does not make it better or worse. So what if I do not want to move every three to four years? That is fine if it is what you are accustomed to in the active duty military. I chose not to go active duty for that very reason. I happen to like having the choice to move when and where I want. So what if I do not want to stay in a career field that almost always requires you to relocate every time you change jobs? There is more to life than money and certainly more ways to make money than this job.

I am a country girl. Period. I enjoy having my hands in the dirt. I enjoy living off the land. My hobbies of choice include horseback riding and gardening. It is what makes me happy and relieves my stress. I like the peace and quiet of the country. Granted, I may need to live further away from my job in order to afford what I want, but it is a sacrifice that I make willingly. Better than the constant worry over traffic, crime and stupidity. I want to have a family. I want my children to know where their food comes from and the joy of playing outdoors. I want my family to know the stability of living in one place and having friends and neighbors to rely upon. I am sorry if you think those are stupid and old-fashioned ideals, but then I think that shows a greater reflection upon your life than mine.

Summer's Here

Gosh, where has the time gone? On my path to self sustainment, I've started a garden and gotten chickens. Of course, we got chicks and it'll be August before we get any eggs from them, so I turned around and got two adult hens so I can have eggs. We are now up to two dozen eggs in the fridge and can't eat them fast enough. I'm going to boil the batch of them and made salad and deviled eggs for the fundraiser next weekend.

And why would I be hosting a fundraiser? Because we took on another horse. We're actually fostering her for Heart Land Horse Rescue. She's an 8 year old, 16h Thoroughbred mare named Rojero. I'm going to change the name, but I don't know what I'm going to change it to just yet.

Matt's back to work at his old firm. It's not truly full time, but they aren't taking taxes out either so it's almost the same take home pay. I'm worried about what it will mean come tax time. I change my deductions at work so more will be taken out and I'm putting money aside whenever possible. We're starting to pull out ahead. I've also gotten back to paying down the credit cards. I hope to have them all paid off in three years. I hope it works out because I will be so glad when I am done with them.

Matt has also gotten into the handy man business. He built me a chicken coop and then had another lady call asking for one. Now all of her neighbors want one. Bat houses will be next. I have to have something to combat these

mosquitoes.

More Drama

First Sergeant decided to have a talk last night with the girls about the hotel situation. Two girls who I thought were rooming with me and my roommate decided to room with two other girls, leaving us to split a room between just the two of us. I can't afford that. It brought all of my money fears to a head, in addition to how I'd been feeling all day. I hate crying in front of people, yet I ran out of the room sobbing. I locked myself in a bathroom stall for a while, then walked to the phones to call Matt.

I can only imagine what he thought when he answered the phone to my crying. He made me feel better though and told me to go on the trip anyway. Sgt Wills & SrA Vincent stopped me on the way back to my room to talk to me and offer support. Sgt Wills prayed with me. When we got done with our prayer, the black dog who hangs out on base walked by. I think God knew I needed an animal to comfort me. He happily came up to me and I petted and cried on him for a few minutes.

The First Sergeant found me when I got back to the dorms. He told me that the Commander was going to help pay for my room. He also let me know about some assistance funds available through the Air Force and the state of Georgia. That made me feel a little better. I think I finally got to bed around eleven.

Today, the two girls who made me so angry yesterday won't look at or speak to me. That's ok, I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with them. Tears were close to the surface this morning, but work did me good for all that it was messed up. I think we've got a handle on it. We've made a lot of progress today. We got the faces for all of the soffits measured and half of them cut. We should be able to finish mounting the panels this week and do finishing work next week. If not, that's up to the next team to do. Hopefully we get through the rest of these panels with the saw blades we have. I don't know when we'll get more. But the day went fast aside from some stomach issues. Nothing a little Pepto can't fix. I wish I could figure out which food is doing it.

Then tonight I called Matt in much better spirits. He's applying for a couple jobs today. Hopefully something comes of it. I need a reason to celebrate.

Eilat

Yesterday we went to Eilat and the Red Sea. It was a beautiful ride out. The land here looks more like canyons than sand dunes. Lots of rock with mountains in the distance. The strangest things to see were dairy farms in the desert. There is not a single blade of grass, but all of these cows were living under sun shades, living off of hay and grain. I don't know where they find the hay, but the bales were huge. They were also bleached yellow by the sun.

The Red Sea was beautiful. I wish I'd had the money to go snorkeling. It's probably best I didn't bring a swimsuit because I would have spent money I didn't have. We did eat at a really good place called Boston Seafood and Grill. I had a shrimp and calamari salad. Very tasty. Then we walked around. We didn't get to see much beyond the boardwalk. The shops were mostly trinkets. I decided to save my shekels for Jerusalem. I did get a couple postcards though. Now I just need to find stamps. I tried calling Matt when we got back. I really miss him. I couldn't reach him at the house or on his cell, so I called my parents instead. Dad was home, so I got to talk to him, Mom and Tyler. Ryan and Anna were at a retreat. I tried Matt again and still couldn't reach him so I went back to my room.

I spent this morning shoveling bird poop out of a warehouse. I spent the afternoon feeling ill. Part of it was the heat, part of it was needing a break. There are people everywhere. I can never get time alone. My roommate interrupts me when I'm reading. People try to make polite conversation or ask what's wrong when I'm lost in thought. Everyone seems to annoy me. Maybe it's because I don't feel well. Maybe I just miss Matt and how well he understands me. I should try calling him, but I just don't feel very talkative right now. I think I'll just throw my clothes in the dryer, take a shower and go to bed.

Second Day in Israel

I'm amazed I even know what day it is. We left Robins AFB Tuesday evening. I hated to say bye to Matt, but I'm glad he drove me. It was good to spend a few more hours together before I had to leave. This is going to be a long two weeks. Ok, almost three weeks, but who's counting? Then we spent Wednesday in Sicily. I would have loved to stay there longer. I tried speaking a little Italian. I ended up ordering five deserts when I only wanted two. We walked around Catania and tried taking pictures, but it got dark. Then it started raining and we got soaked. Umbrella vendors kept following us, trying to get us to buy them. I think I said no out of spite. Beautiful city. I really hope to go back someday.

Then Thursday we got into Israel. We haven't seen much of it yet, but we're going to Eilat and the Red Sea tomorrow. Today we went to Arad for a bit. Everything was closed because of Shabat. There were a lot of cats though. The one I stopped to pet would have stood there all day if I hadn't needed to catch up to the group. Sheep herding is big here too. It's like the old days before fence laws and shepherds took their flocks from place to place in search of grass. I noticed a lot of underground rivers and oasis here that had herds grazing on them. We also saw a lot of folks riding donkeys. Saw a few horses and camels as well.

Tonight was Shabat. There were Hebrew prayers followed by a banquet. It was delicious and there was so much of it. I shouldn't have eaten as much as I did, but I couldn't help myself. A lot of veggies too, so it was kind of healthy. Got a chance to talk to Matt after dinner. I hate when there is drama at home and I'm not there to help. He lost his job Monday and is having trouble filing unemployment. He's trying to work on the taxes and doesn't know his password. He got into a car accident Wednesday (not his fault) and now has to get a quote to fix it. The dogs are getting loose and not listening. Apparently he's forgotten when he learned in dog training. Now I'm stressed and feel guilty about being here. I did send him a post card from Sicily. Hopefully it cheers him up. I'll have to send him one tomorrow as well. I don't want him to feel forgotten. All I think about is how much I wish he was here to share this with.

Organization

Wow, has it really been November since I posted last?  The holidays really got away from me.  December was a rough month for us financially, but we came through it and I think we've learned some lessons from it.  I've put a plan into place to pay off all of our credit cards.  Hopefully that will happen in the next five years; sooner, if we can ever refinance the house.  Let me just say this right now, if you don't have credit card debt then keep it that way.  There are better ways to earn credit then a revolving account.  Much better ways.  We would have a lot more money in our pockets if we didn't have to pay so much in credit card payments every month.  They have gotten out of control.  Some of our minimum payments have tripled.  It's just not worth it.  We have also stopped using the credit cards.  It's tough to feed all these animals and still only spend the money when we have it, but we're getting there.  Which brings me to my main New Years Resolution: stick to a budget.

Budgeting means a lot of changes.  First of all, I've gotten back to keeping a ledger with my checkbook so I always know exactly what we have available.  That has really helped a lot.  I shouldn't have waited so long to start keeping one, but the computer that I had kept the ledger on finally bit the big one, so I didn't have much of a choice.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.  Second of all, that means translating that ledger to the  budget.  I'm finding that we don't spend the money on the things I thought we spent it on.  Too bad that also means we've spent more money in some areas than we should have.  I'm definitely working on that.  The tough one has been the grocery bill.  We have expensive tastes when it comes to food.  A couple of new resolutions have come of that.  First of all, only buy meat when it's on sale.  Second of all, stick to locally grown, in season vegetables.  That's easy since we have Beasley's around the corner; however, I am in the process of starting my garden in the next month.  We are also packing lunches and limiting dining out to only very special occasions, or at least no more than once a month.  It's also causing us to eat healthier which is never a bag thing.  I'm drinking water like it's going out of style.

But the biggest project of all it getting all of this organized.  Lately, we have taken to throwing all of our bills in the filing cabinet drawer.  Now I can't find a darn thing.  That's bad when I have medical bills that need paid off and I don't trust these people to apply my payments correctly.  So I came up with a great filing system that will organize our bills by payee and make everything easy to find.  The only problem is that I now have to organize two drawers full of bills (some dating as far back as 2002) and putting them into said files.  So guess what I'm supposed to be doing right now instead of posting this blog.  oops