1 Week Old

Adventures in Pheasants Continue As They Are One Week Old

I can't tell a ton of difference in their size but I sure can tell they can MOVE quick!  The other thing I have noticed is that they are going crazy pecking at everything around them.  So last night after work I took some branches with leaves off some of the trees and put in with them & they were totally destroyed/gone this morning.  They apparently liked that so i will have to do that again tonight!

Adventures In Poultry!

So - on top of wedding planning and working on a foreclosure we are now raising 22 pheasants!!!  They arrived last Thursday at only a day old!!   Here they are!!!

I have one story to share so far, otherwise it has been going fairly well - I give them feed in the morning & change their water at night and then will change their bedding every few days.

However, on Monday I was standing in the middle of this pen - and if you don't know it - these little guys can run SUPER fast so you have to be very careful where you stand.  So here I am in the middle of the pen with D changing the oil on my car while my dog Zoey watches very intently. 

I don't see any reason for her to be near the pheasants as I was afraid she was going to knock over this cardboard pen with one pounce and the poor little guys would be loose in the garage!!!  However, D tries to be SO nice to Zoey (who by the way is a Papillion/Shitzu and weighs around 20 Lbs) thinks she'll learn to behave around them.

So here I am in the middle of the pen when Zoey starts pawing at the cardboard and both D & myself are hollering at her to get away when all of a sudden she gets one out from underneath the cardboard & gets it in her mouth!!  I am yelling for D to come help me so I don't kill the rest of them and finally get over to Zoey where I grab her by the collar lift her up while the poor little guy falls out back into the pen.  He has been killed by the dog! 

So we are now down to 21!

B.T.W - I have no idea if these are male or female so I am just guessing at this point!

Wish me luck!!!!

Great Thoughts

Look for the gifts in everything, especially when you are facing what appears to be a negative situation. Everything that we attract causes us to grow, which means that ultimately everything is for our own good.


Adjusting to a new path and a new direction will require new qualities and strengths, and these qualities are always exactly what we need to acquire in order to accomplish the great things ahead in our life.
Rhonda Byrne

Consignment

If you haven't heard about it there is a store called Bride To Be Consignment in Minneapolis.  I have been following them on facebook and it seems they have everything you might need!  Plus after the wedding what a great way to get rid of some stuff that you only bought for the wedding & have no other use for & make some money! 

I recommend following them on Facebook as they post pictures of new inventory regularly & they will answer questions very quickly!  The other great thing about the facebook page is if you see something you want they are willing to ship it to you or hold it if you pay!!!!

Here is their information:

Bride To Be Consignement

Address: 1133 East Cliff Road

                Burnsville, MN 55337

Phone:    1 612.267.4004     

Website: www.bridetobeconsignment.com

Another Way To Save A Few $$$$

My bridesmaids have been looking for their dresses all over and were shocked to see the cost of a dress!  They were looking at tea-length dresses - nothing over the top fancy. I told them to pick what they liked and would be comfortable in.

Then one day while shopping at a local bridal store we found a gorgeous one shoulder, to the floor, black gown - GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!  We then also found out long gowns cost even more!!!!!!!!!  They had the dresses narrowed down to 2 or 3. One day I called the bridal store where I purchased my dress from & asked if my bridesmaids came there to buy there dresses would they get a discount. She said typically they only do that if the groomsmen come there too. 

At this point in the wedding planning process we were only going to have the guys wear black pants, white shirts and black ties so we weren't going to need to rent anything.  I told this to the clerk on the phone & she said she'd call the owner & see what they could do.  They called me back & told me that as long as they pay in full they can get 20% off their dresses!!!! 

So we went to this bridal store & they had the same dresses we liked from the local one & then a new one that had just come in & that is the one we picked!  

To Sum It Up:

 My tip is call your bridal store and see if they will give you a discount for ANYTHING!  If you don't ask you won't find out!!!!!

ELIMINATE EXCUSES

Be determined to eliminate excuses!  Don't let any restrictions, restraints, or reasons cause you to believe that you can justify not doing something or going somewhere.  That one thing that you make an excuse not to do just might be the one thing that you need in order to propel you towards the next dimension in your life.  "Excuses are your fears in disguise."  ~ Jewel Diamond Taylor

A Great Resource

Alright - it's another website - but it's been another great one - www.etsy.com!

I love etsy!!!

 I admire those of you who are crafty and can see things & make them, or just have that natural talent that some of us just don't, doesn't matter how hard I try, I just am not crafty!!

Etsy has been a great resource for gifts, jewelery and ideas in general! 

Here is just one of the many things I have gotten from etsy - knowing it's handmade just for me is pretty cool as well!!!!!!!!



This is something I've had pinned on my wedding pinterest board for a LONG time & have been looking for something similar to this every time I go into a wedding store!  However, they are crazy high priced!!!  Anything I like is well over $100 - crazy to me, I am shocked at the cost of anything bridal.  I found that anytime they put the word "bride" or "wedding" with anything the price about doubles. 

So one afternoon I was admiring this again on Pinterest when I looked at the source it came from & it was Etsy!!!  Woohoo - I was SO excited!  However, I clicked on it - it took me to the website & when th link opened I was let down - SOLD!  Ugh!  Now what, I looked through the stores site & there wasn't anything I liked more, this is the one I wanted!

So I emailed the store owner, whats the worst that can happen I figured, she'd tell me no I can't make this for you! 

Guess what - she said she would!!!!!

 

I just got it in the mail last week, took it in to make sure it matched my dress & sure enough - identical!!!!  I couldn't have been happier!!! 

 It's the little things in life that make us happy!

Sometimes You Get Exactly What You Need!!

And I Needed This!!!!!

You can Change the Circumstance that Can’t be Changed :)

May 8, 2012 in beth and lee mccain,

If there is an experience that you can’t change then do your best to change your attitude about it. Don’t sit and think about your discontentment in the experience. If you have negative feelings about something then find the reason why and do something about it through your attitude. We all have experiences that we would love to change but some experiences ‘just are.’ In those kinds of experiences the only way to make it more positive is to change your attitude instead of hanging on to what you feel resistant about. This will change your perspective and the experience. And then the experience will begin to change. So you see…you can change it.

Think about how freeing this can be. Here you have an experience that you are tired of or don’t want to keep replaying. Maybe it is as simple as you don’t like a certain time at work because of THAT meeting. When it is something that won’t be changed then it is your attitude that will change it. Accept it is there. This doesn’t mean that you have to say, “I love this experience,” because it is obvious that you don’t by how you feel… but if you just accept that it is there, put no judgment or discontentment toward it, and just get it done then you have released the resistant feeling vibration toward the experience. As you release the vibration then what happens is the experience begins to change. First because of how you are experiencing it now and once the resistance is released you will ‘move on’ and the experience will lessen in negativity creating a whole new vibration

Inspiration

Just a short tip today - but it's been great for me!

I didn't get into  at first but lately it's been amazing! 

I go on there a couple of times a week - and it's been a great place to get wedding ideas and inspiration! I have also gotten lots of recipe ideas and craft ideas as well!

Check out my boards at:

http://pinterest.com/lacey_aalderks/wedding-ideas/

15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy!

After a couple of rough weeks at work dealing with inner office politics I read this article today & it came at the perfect time - thought it was worth sharing - they are all worht reading!!!

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change.

 Ready?

Here we go:

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take off all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open.

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.

“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path

Another Money Saving Tip

Today's wedding saving tip!!!

I have been on www.craigslist.com off and on throughout the entire wedding planning process - however so far I have only found one item from there that I have purchased - but again it's saved me plenty of money and was well worth it.  Once you start checking craigslist you'll be able to only go on about once a week if that as there aren't (at least in this area) that many new wedding postings - so that's nice - there isn't a ton to have to sort through! 

Here's what I got on craigslist:

Wedding Deals!

That's right more wedding stuff!  I knew that I didn't want to go broke planning my wedding so I thought I'd share some tips/ideas on how I have been planning and some great deals that I've gotten!

For today - because this one is fresh in my mind I will let you know that I got 120 programs for $45, I will need to print them myself - but they were what I was looking for & let's be honest who is going to remember the program - most will get thrown away!  However, I did still want them to match and look nice and go with my black/white & red theme!  So the first tip I am going to share is to go to the website www.weddingbee.com   This website has great ideas/tips/ and  a classifieds site on it just for wedding stuff!!!!  I got my programs from someone in Canada that  wasn't able to use them because they weren't large enough for all of the items that she needed to put on the program.

I looked them up and these would cost $40/box if I were to have ordered them myself - so I felt this was a great way to save some money!!!!