Beautiful Life of Zig Zag Zoom

I am in the holiday mode today and trying to get everything ready. Yesterday, Karen (my wife) finished decorating the Christmas tree and today, I am printing off the Christmas cards to end to family and friends. We use to buy cards but the last couple of years we decided to  make our own. They offer a more personal feeling and I normally include a picture of one of our pets on the front.

Christmas shopping is done (I hate stores) except for a few stocking stuffers. Nothing will kill the holiday spirit like a day in Walmart. LOL I think I did good this year. Of course, I still have the task of wrapping the gifts. I do love to give gifts but I hate to receive them. I ask every year that no one buys for me but every year, I get way too much.

I hope you are all giving where the need is this year and providing what you can for those who need it most. The true spirit of Christmas, not meaning the religious aspect, is to give to those who would otherwise not have anything. Support the local charities that give 100% of the donations back to the local community.

If you are in need for the holidays, do not feel shame, many of us have been in the same boat so make sure you take help from where you can get it. Just remember, if you take help and someday if you are in the position to give something back, do not forgot others who may be in the same position you once were.

Helping your neighbors in a time of need provides a return benefit to you and you may end up inspiring a greater out pour of giving than you every imagined.

Be well and be safe and remember, if life deals you a load of garbage just say “That Blozzz” and move on.

I started raising chicken this past summer and it is fun and everyday I get nice fresh eggs. They are one of the easiest animals to raise and require only minimal care.

I allow them (except) in the winter to free range on a nice fenced area. One of my first concerns was that they like to fly out of their area. I had thought of clipping their wings but I watched and only one of the breeds I have fly out and they stick right in the main yard then fly back in shortly after. Because of that fact, I decided to forgo the wing clipping.

Chickens do need to have food and water at all times and if they do not have access to small rocks, you need to add grit for them to be able to digest their food. They also need a safe shelter to protect them from the elements and other animals. Any place will do, I use an old shed that was built on to my main barn.

If you plan to hatch the eggs you need a rooster. If you are just using the eggs for food, hens do still lay eggs without a rooster but they will not be fertilized. I chose to get a rooster even though I do not hatch the eggs. I thought he would be good protection when another animal comes around.

At times, I feel that getting a rooster was not my best idea. He protects too well and in the fall I went out to the barn with shorts on and he attacked my leg. Let me tell you, roosters can do damage and they do hurt. I was lucky he just got two good cuts on my leg before I kicked him off. He was headed to the guillotine before my wife convinced me to give him another chance. I pardoned him from death row but now I have a 2×4 handy and he has learned who is the real boss of the roost.

The one thing I learned about raising chickens is that if you read too many books, you will spend all your time worrying about problems. I have one good book and use it as a reference guide. Otherwise, you can learn everything you need to know by just doing it., it is really easy.

Collecting eggs must be done daily. If you have new hens expecting to start laying (approx. 23 weeks from birth), make sure you look everywhere for the eggs. I made really nice nesting boxes and the older hens have laid their eggs in them. I have two newer hens who just starting laying and they laid everywhere. The first bunch of eggs, I found on a high shelf in the barn (12 in all). Then I found them under an old wood stove. Now they lay on the floor in a corner. I guess they do not like the boxes I made. Well at least they lay in the same place everyday now.

The chickens love treats and they eat many scraps like apples, apple peelings, pumpkins (chopped up), tomatoes, zucchini, and more. They for some reason do not like broccoli or any of the cabbage family.

The downside of raising any animal is the winter. The last few weeks it has been in the teens down to below zero and it is a pain to change the water everyday and collect eggs when it is so cold. The chickens also hate being cooped up but that is part of the life.

My farm is also a no kill chicken farm, they are here for eggs and as pets. We are looking at raising for meat in the future once I get some experience in doing so.

This post should give and idea about raising chickens and I will include future posts on the topic.

Remember when the manure in life gets too much, just say “That Blozzz”, and move on !

There are many factors to decide prior to going from a two-income household to a one-income household. What is gained and what do you have to give up?

The first factor is trying to determine what you really earn with the second income. Here is a list of possible expenses that you must deduct from your gross pay income:

1. Taxes
2. Gas Money
3. Increase in car maintenance
4. Child care (If you have a child)
5. Clothing for work
6. Lunch out
7. Misc. Office Gifts
8. Dinners out due to lack of time or lack of energy
9. Other work related expenses (Union dues, etc…)

Once you deduct all of these expenses, you will have a honest picture of what you really make.

The next factor is deciding rather you can live without the benefits. These may include health insurance, retirement account, life insurance, and more. For example, if your job provides the only health insurance for your family, you may not be able to live without that benefit.

The third factor is you are willing to give up some of the luxuries. Your family may have to eat out less. You may lose a lot of the social aspect that comes from the job-site. You may have less money to spend on the extra treats for you and your family.  

The final factor I will discuss, though there may be others in your case, is rather your family can still pay all the bills. If you leave your job and find that your family can not pay the bills, your family will go through an unnecessary hardship until you can become reemployed.  Know what your bills are (write them down) and then see if the remaining income can pay all of them.

If all these factors workout and you decide to go through with leaving your job, make sure your spouse is comfortable and supportive of the idea. However, do not worry what others may think. The decision is a family one and it is nobody else’s business.

Keep checking back for posts on ways to earn money at home and tips to save money.

As always, if life deals you crap, say “That Blozzz” and move on!

Wow, it is hard to find just the right theme and add all the components of a word-press blog. I think I found the right theme and added a few things to it. I am still working on it but if you have any comments, please feel free to leave a comment with advice or praise.

 For about 150 years of the United States history and much longer for the rest of the world, housewives were a common place occurrence. Men went to work and women stayed home to tend to the house. Well times have changed and the trend has changed.

Most families must have two incomes to survive even though staying at home could benefit one of them. However, the families that can afford it is not like days of old. Now you are starting to see more and more husbands staying home. Most with kids and some without.

There are many reason for a spouse of either sex to stay home. For me, it was a tough decision. It was the stigma of not working a regular job that was standing in my way. We looked at many factors to determine the final decision. Basically it came down to she was making more and we were both stressed because I really was not happy in my job (most days she loves hers).

We had family obligation that could be handled better if one or the other was home. We looked at how much my job was worth when you removed all the other expenses and we came to teh determination that I would be a stay at home husband for now.

I will write a future post describing the factors we looked at. However, I am here to tell you, it can be done and it can improve your way of life. The freedom to be there to do the things that never seemed possible to do due to time is worth a lot in itself. Money is important and everyone wants more but at what cost to your sanity and health?

In just the week I have been home, I have accomplish more at home than I was every able to do before. My stress level has dropped and I am able to devote more time to writing and working on the Internet.

For anyone, male or female are thinking of staying home instead of working a regular job, consider all the factors and do not let your fear of the opinion of others sway you from doing what is best for your family.

I am here to say,  I am proud to call myself a stay at home husband and if and when I decide to return to a regular job, it will be on my terms.

I just wanted to tell a little about my life. I live on an old farmstead in Northern New York. I own 85 acres of land and I raise chickens for pets and for eggs. I am a stay at home husband as of last week and I spend my time working at the old homestead and working on the Internet.

This is all shared with my wife, my dog, and living with us is my 79 yo mother.

I truly live the good life. To get up and breath fresh air and to be able to venture into nature without the problems that many experience in the big city is truly a great thing.

Are there things I give up to live this type of life? Yes, I can not get high speed Internet and our dial-up is so slow that at times I want to throw the computer out the window. We are also in an extremely cold region where below zero is a common thing during the winter months. Three to four feet of snow on the ground most of the winter is also not uncommon. Driving 30 miles to get to any kind of descent store or restaurant is common day event.

However, at this point in my life, I would have it no other way. It is all about quality of life and how you enjoy that life.

Stay tuned in the homestead category to see more about my life on the old homestead.

Hello world, watch out because I am unleashed on a whole new adventure. 

Are looking for a politically correct blog that gives you everything you want to hear?

Well I guess you found the wrong place for that. My humor is sometimes rauchy, my opinions are plenty , and I do not care if I am polictically incorrect.

If you are looking for a fun blog with a little bit of everything, you have arrived at a good place to visit.

This is not my first blog; however, it is my first wordpress blog. I will be trying to figure this whole damn thing out and will start posting and adding categories as I get this all worked out.

More to come and I hope to see you registered and checking back daily. Till then, off to figure it all out.