I made the invitations on the computer and told everyone to wear their barnyard best (jeans and overalls).  I didn’t want any one’s good clothes getting ruined.  We invited about 20 children who were family and friends.  We had a great turn out.  All of our children and grandchildren were there and 7 friends from school and church. 

We started off with some basic rules about how to hold the animals and directions for safety and then we let them go.  Each animal pen had an adult to supervise the holding and petting of the animals.  We have two pot-belly pigs, five hens, eight chicks, two horses, two baby bunnies and my grandson brought his big bunny to the party, too!

We showed the kids the beautiful colored eggs our hens lay and then talked about how they hatch and showed the chicks, then we showed them the full grown hens.  The piggies did their one trick.  They sit on command and then look up at you and smile.  The kids loved holding all three of the bunnies.  We decided not to give rides on the horses.  It would have taken a long time, but we did let each child pet Jessie (my percheron/paint mare) and sit on her for a picture.  Joe (my thorough bred) was not happy about being tied up and left out of the fun.  We had a great time with the animals.

After a lot of hand washing, we moved on to cake and ice cream.  I have made nearly every birthday cake for every one of my six children until they were at least 18 years old.  I figure I have made over 80 birthday cakes for my children alone, not counting other family and friends.  My cakes aren’t always pretty, but they are always tasty.  This one was kinda cute.

I think my little one really enjoyed her party.  She had lots of family and friends there to celebrate with her.  Everyone went home with barnyard themed goodie bags.  I think we all had a great time!

The reason I have been making pizza more than ordering it recently is probably obvious. With the economy what it is, we just can’t afford to spend $30 or more for pizza. Pizza is surprisingly easy to make. And, if you watch for sales on the cheeses and toppings, it is usually less than half the price of take-out. Here is my pizza crust recipe and a quick pizza sauce recipe.

EZ Pizza Crust (makes 2 twelve-inch pizzas)

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

2 tablespoons dry yeast or 2 packages

3/4 cup warm (about 110 degrees) water, plus more as needed

2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

cornmeal for pan

Dissolve yeast in a bowl with 3/4 cup lukewarm water. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar and salt. Stir in the olive oil and the water with the dissolved yeast. Mix well. Add more lukewarm water as needed to make a dough that is smooth and elastic. Turn out on a floured board and knead until for 3 minutes. Pour a little olive oil in a large bowl and place the ball of dough in the bowl. Turn to coat with the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and leave it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

EZ Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves

Mix everything together and let sit for a hour or so to let flavors mingle before making your pizza.

Preheat your oven to 550°F. Punch down the dough and separate in to two balls. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 12-inch round. Sprinkle some cornmeal onto your pizza pan and place the dough on top. Spread with the pizza sauce. Add the desired toppings and cover with cheese. I usually use just mozzarella cheese, but sometimes we mix it up and add cheddar, jack or parmesan. This is the great thing about making pizza at home. You can make it the way you want it, not the way the restaurants offer it.

We often have Make Your Own Pizza Night. I prebake the crusts in the morning. I cook them until just down, but not brown. I usually break the recipe into fourths and make small crusts. Before baking use a fork and pierce the crust so that it doesn’t bubble up. Then that night everyone gets to pick their own toppings and put their pizza together. I cook them as fast as they are assembled and everyone gets just the pizza they want. Everyone loves this; kids and adults alike.

Start a new family tradition. Pizza night!

Popcorn is a whole grain food which makes it a complex carbohydrate that is not only low in calories, but a good source of fiber. It only has about 31-55 calories in a one cup unbuttered serving, and when lightly buttered, one cup still only has around 133 calories. Popcorn has no artificial additives or preservatives, and is sugar-free. Popcorn contains energy-producing carbohydrates. Popcorn is ideal for between meal snacking because it satisfies and doesn’t spoil the appetite.

The USDA recommends eating six-ounce equivalents of grains per day with at least three of those coming from whole grains. In general, 3 cups of popcorn can be considered as a 1 ounce equivalent from the grains group. So, eat up your popcorn!

Popcorn is also a very economical snack. I really don’t enjoy the microwave varieties, so I don’t buy them. But, a bag of regular popcorn is under two dollars. Add a few cents for the oil to cook it in and a little more for the butter and you have a great snack for under one dollar!

I love the versatility of popcorn also. You can add cheese and or spices to jazz it up. You can make caramel corn or popcorn balls. My grandpa used to add popcorn left over from the night before to his pancakes! Believe it or not, they were delicious. Popcorn pancakes are one of my fondest memories of my grandpa!

Here’s my Aunt Connie’s recipe for popcorn balls. They are so delicious!

Ingredients:
15 cups of popped corn or 3 bags of microwave popcorn
20 large marshmallows
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

In a heavy saucepan, melt the marshmallows, butter, and sugars. When completely melted and combined pour over the popped corn. Mix all ingredients together well. Butter hands and form into balls. These are the best popcorn balls ever!

Here’s an “adult” version of caramel corn. It is Kahlua Cocoa Balls!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Kahlua
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup chopped pecans
5 cups popped corn

No cooking required. Mix the Kahlua, corn syrup, powdered sugar and cocoa together. Stir until completely blended. Pour over the chopped pecans and popcorn. Mix well. Butter hands and form into balls. Ohhh, so good!

The word diet has become one of those dirty, four letter words in our society. The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language defines the word as: The usual food and drink of a person or animal. Not the definition of the average person today, which is more like the second definition: A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss. I like the first definition better and I am going to improve my family’s diet.

I am also going to try to get more exercise into our lives. When my children were smaller, we walked all the time. Need postage stamps? Go for a walk. Time to pick up the kids from school? Go for a walk. Grumpy baby? Go for a walk. What happened? When did I stop going for a walk? Even though it is really cold here in the winter, I am planning on bundling up (me and the kids) and going for a walk. Often!

We had a great walk at the zoo yesterday and today’s plan is to walk around our neighborhood and see how everyone’s animals are doing. We live a rural area and there are goats, horses, geese and other animals everywhere. In the spring and summer when the weather was nice, we were walking to see the baby goats all the time. I haven’t seen them in a couple of months. They are probably not looking like babies anymore, but we are going to go and see them anyway.

So, this is the basic idea behind my resolution. I want to be healthier. I want my family to be healthier. I want to set a better example for my children and I want to teach them that being healthy and eating well can and should be a part of their lives. Their whole life. Now, I am off to gather my children, bundle up and go for a walk!

This float won the Sweepstakes Award for most beautiful entry and it truly was. The float displayed an African safari in an effort to raise awareness of the central role that water plays in sustaining the Earth’s diverse environments and their inhabitants. There were zebras, giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, a cheetah and elephants frolicking at the water’s edge beneath flowering acacia trees. As a houseful of animal lovers, each one of us commented on their favorites, which brought up discussion of our last trip to the zoo.

One of my daughter’s friends, who had spent the night, commented she had never been to the zoo. She is eighteen years old. I was horrified! The zoo (pick one, any zoo will do) is one of my favorite places to be. I told her that we needed to remedy this situation immediately. She was leaving to go back to college in the east within the week. So, we planned a trip to our local zoo.

The weather forecast for Monday was dreary. Cloudy and 60 degrees, but that didn’t stop us. I loaded up our twelve-passenger van with a combination of my children, grandchildren and two college-age friends of my daughter and off we went.

It was the perfect day for the zoo! I don’t know what the temperature actually was, but the only time we got chilled was when we sat down for lunch. All the walking and excitement kept us warm. There were relatively few people there; I guess everyone was already back at school after winter break. It felt like we had the place to ourselves. The animals were fairly active and we had a wonderful time.

Our friend, Em, had a lot of fun. Hopefully, she will return to the zoo (any zoo will do) soon and enjoy the animals, fresh air, exercise and botanicals. I feel my job is done and I had an incredible day, too!