Happy New Year

It's 11 days into the new year, and boy howdy are we busy! We have new baby chicks coming, selling some of the goats and cats, and keeping all of the livestock from freezing in this arctic blast we call Winter! 

I'm also working hard on new e-cookbooks, and a newsletter called "Survival Cooking and Living".  My first articles are due tomorrow so it can be published on the 15th. Not much time, but I work great under pressure.

Haven't managed to get my eating under control yet. When it's so very cold out, hot warm bread straight from the oven is extremely tempting! As is hot cocoa. Yum!  Okay, enough of that!

As far as my son is concerned, we're looking for "playmates" for him. Yes, at age 14 we really shouldn't call potential friends "playmates" but ... he'll get over it! Just someone to pal around with, talk about common interests, see a movie from time to time, and talk about boy stuff.

Already, we just so busy.

I'll update when I can. Start this year out great!

Weight Loss Already

Stress will do it to me... every time!  I haven't changed much about my diet, just kinda getting the feel of things and mentally preparing. Sounds lame, but it's worked for me in the past. I'm not going crazy eating sandwiches or chips or cookies, or making loaves of bread to eat warm from the oven with fresh butter. I **did** have a major migraine yesterday so I didn't eat much for dinner: just a bowl of cereal with berries.

Weight this morning: 210.0.  That's a three pound loss in 2 days!

Joined another blogger in an effort to put out a monthly newsletter. I'll post details when I have them.  Meanwhile, I'm hard at work, getting my first e-book ready for release!

Enjoy your weekend, and drive carefully. Too many drunk drivers out there!

Hearty Oat Breakfast

On a snowy morning like today, oatmeal is perfect for breakfast!  Here's how I make it:

Get up 2 hours before breakfast.  Put crockpot on high.

1 cup gluten-free oats
1/4 cup amaranth
sprinkling of cinnamon

Mix.

Add 2 1/2 cups water. Lightly stir. Cover and let cook.  Go get ready for the day, get the kids up, check e-mail, whatever.  Ready to eat when the water has been absorbed.  Delicious, filling, and gluten-free/yeast-free.

Serve with just a bit of butter (or your fav substitute) and agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice).

Okay, it's time to go check on the livestock while my oats cook!

Prepping for Snow Storm

Not just a blog about food and getting healthy, this is also about my day-to-day life, raising food, chickens, goats, and my disabled son.

Tonight through tomorrow we're expecting 3-6 inches of snow, with a high on Thursday and Friday in the 30's.  So today, we're burning calories by hauling pine branches and a bale of hay into the goat pen, and cleaning out the water buckets to give them fresh clean water.

Of course, can't forget the chickens. I'll give them extra hay on their flooring to help keep them warm. Will also clean out their water buckets, and let them all out to forage for as much of today as possible. They won't want to go in until dark but if the temp dips into the 20's before then (not expected but you never know), then I'll round them up.

We're selling some of our chickens. Money is tight for everyone, including us, so 5 of our hens and our loudest rooster is going. Once they are sold and picked up, I'll combine all of the chickens together to help them keep warm.

Our chickens don't lay much right now. Some are still a little too young, but some are molting and then, in general, the hens don't lay as often when there's less than 12 hours of daylight. That's ok. We have enough eggs to feed us.  And our one milk goat provides enough drinking milk for us, but not much more since I only milk her once a day. The other full-grown milk goat is (hopefully) pregnant but is mostly used to breed, and our 10 month old doeling hasn't been mated yet.  The wether, of course, is a castrated male, and is only a pet.

I rambled, but it's obvious ... we have lots of work here on our little homestead. Totally worth it. Our milk and eggs are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, and we know they are good and healthy for us.

Weight holding steady at 213.6 this morning. All right!

Intro of R.L. Lawrence

Hi! I'm starting this blog because, well, a lot of reasons!
(1) I love to cook!
(2) I love to eat!
(3) I'm really overweight and gonna start losing it.
(4) I have me and my son on a gluten-free diet, and as of Jan 2011 on a temporary cow-milk-free and yeast-free diet.
(5) I write e-books, especially cookbooks and am always looking for input.

So ... now maybe you'd like to know a little bit more.

My son is disabled, as am I. There were three of us, my teenage son, me and my husband of 3 years. The marriage isn't working out.  For now, I'll just call my husband Hubby, and my son Bubba.  Just call me R.L.!

We live on a small farm in Western USA where we have goats, chickens, dogs and cats.  We grow some of our food, but try to buy locally whenever possible.  I'm working on becoming careful about what we eat... minimize pesticides, preservatives, chemicals, and so forth.

I started out at 270 pounds in June 2010 and with hard work, eating gluten-free and low-carb, and support from online friends, I've gotten down to 213.8 pounds (today).  But, there's a hiccup in my life, and I've had to suspend my program while I get my home life straightened out.

Meanwhile, our plan to get back to it as of January 1 is NOT because it's a new year. It's because I've promised my son a somewhat normal Christmas, and that's what I intend to do.... with all of the trimmings! Especially my pecan pie with chocolate chips!  He's asked for a day or two of eating wheat, and I'm saying yes, so here come the store-bought pie crusts that are sooo much easier than making my own gluten-free crusts.

Welcome and enjoy the blog!