The Office

When you think about having the office of your dreams what does it look like.  Is it a corner office with large windows that you can see the entire city???  Is it filled with fine imported furniture and artwork tastefully displayed????  Something kind of like this.

Or do you have a nice home office in mind.  Maybe something along these lines.

Or the latest cloffice.  I wish I had a closet I could do this with.

I would like you to step in to my hub's office.  It is surrounded by windows with an ever changing view and is equipped with an air ride "office chair", climate control, and the latest technology.  Here is the view from his office when he is baling hay.  These pictures are not the best.....I took them on my phone.

My hubs hard at work!

The baler monitor.  This is used to tell you where to drive and when the bale is full and ready to eject after it is net wrapped.

The sprayer controls.  This scares me....it is a lot of stuff to look at and control.  The top controls are used to to extend, raise, and lower the booms.  The bottom monitor is used to meter the liquid chemicals that come out of the sprayer.  It will tell you a plethora of information such as how fast you are going, how many gallons you have used, how many acres you have sprayed, etc.  Like I said.....A LOT of stuff to constantly watch.

This is used to automatically control the height of the boom and keep them at the same level.

The GPS.  This will tell you within ONE inch of where to drive....pretty amazing!!!!  Plus a whole lot of other amazing features.

The tractor "dashboard".  See the toggle switch on the upper left?  That is my favorite switch!!!  It is called the A/C!!!!!!!!!!

So when I go by to see my hubs at the office, he opens the door on his John Deere tractor and invites me in {he loves when I go with him..........and bring him lunch}.  This is his dream office!!!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookie Bars

One of my favorite things on earth is chocolate.  Another is cream cheese, but not by itself.....it has to be mixed with something.  I add it to enchilada sauce, corn casserole, funeral potatoes, desserts.......the list can go on, but I won't bore you with it.  When I stumbled upon this recipe I had to try it since it involved chocolate and cream cheese.  You can't go wrong with those two ingredients!!!!


I made these bars to bring along on our vacation....or Bacation according to my son.  I didn't want to be busy making goodies in our condo when I could be enjoying the mountain views so I made them ahead of time and stored them in an airtight container in the cooler.     

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:
10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions: 
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8" square baking pan foil allowing a little overhang and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
3. While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. In the bowl beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth.  Mix in the flour and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust.  Make cookie dough into balls and drop over the cream cheese mixture.   Eat some dough because you can't make cookie dough and not eat it.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cookie dough is done.  Allow to cool completely and refrigerate a couple hours.
6. Lift the bars out by the overhang and cut into squares for serving.


{{{HUGS}}}

Orange Julius

I can't tell you the last time I had a "real" Orange Julius!!!  Okay, maybe I could tell you, but I don't want to make myself feel any older than I am by telling you that it was probably 20 years ago which would have made me 13 years old.  It was a looonnnggg time ago and my Mom introduced me to them {I believe it was in Denver}.  I have probably only had 2 count em' 2 "real" Orange Julius' in my life.

Since I live in the sticks and Denver is a 5 hour trip for us I do not get to have an Orange Julius whenever I want one.  When I was pregnant with my son I had this ginormous craving for citrus and specifically and Orange Julius.  So what is a pregnant girl to do.......find the closest recipe you can to the original!!!

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar {can use less if you don't like it so sweet}
1/2 tsp vanilla
12 ice cubes

Place orange juice, milk, sugar, and vanilla in a blender and blend for 1 minute.  Add ice cubes one at a time and blend until completely crushed.  Serve immediately.  Servings 4.

So there you have it.  A super simple recipe that is pretty darn close to the original Orange Julius.

{{{HUGS}}}

You Know You Are A Farmer's Wife When......

While cleaning house last night I came up with a top 10 plus 1 {that is 11....I'm so good at math...lol} list {someday to be a top 20 or 30 as I can continually come up with new thoughts to add} about being a farm wife.  Anyone who is in agriculture or has ever been around it will be able to relate!!!


So here goes.......


You know you are a farmer's wife when.......

* sign language takes on a whole new meaning.


* you can make the meal you prepared for 2 men stretch to feed 4 hungry men when your husband gives you 15 minutes warning that some extra help showed up.


* your bathtub is not only for children, but newborn baby calves.


* 5am is not considered the middle of the night, but time to get up.


* the guy at the parts counter knows you by your first name and not Mrs._____.


* you know the difference between a pickup and a truck.


* the most used app on your ipod is the weather radar.


* you can't sleep because it rained and you want to be the first to report your total rainfall on Facebook.


* you know exactly where to go by following directions like....go up yonder here and turn by the old Smith place and go north about a mile or so till you go past the old wood windmill and then you'll see a fence line with old boots on it........


* you can't go out for your birthday because it is time to drill wheat or go out for your anniversary because you are planting corn or take a summer vacation because you are putting up hay.


* supper time is anywhere from 6pm to midnight.


{{{HUGS}}}

Cheap Organizer

I hate when things are messy, cluttered, dusty {this is impossible to avoid when you live in the country}, out of order, etc.  Unfortunately, with our crazy busy lives of farming, work, kids activities, and keeping a social life, I can't seem to keep up with housework {don't even get me started on the laundry issue which I have talked about here, here, and here}.  It drives me C~R~A~Z~Y when my house messy....which this summer seems to be all the time......sigh!!!!!!!!!

I am always looking at ways to organize and when it is a CHEAP solution it is even better.  So for about two bucks you can organize your cleaning supplies.  Simply use a tension rod and hang your cleaning supplies by the trigger.  I used mine under my kitchen sink.  This will free up space for those important things like calf bottles, colostrum {it is for the newborn calves}, and milk replacer {baby formula for baby calves that cost just as much or more than baby formula}.

So there you have it.....quick, simple, and cheap organization!!!!!!!

{{{HUGS}}}


Linked to: Someday Crafts, Be Different Act Normal