Friday Favorite....Zone Bars

I have to add this to my list of favorites. Mainly because....well....they are my favorite protein bars. They don't have the usual after taste that most protein bars have. My favorite flavor is the Double Dark Chocolate. In fact, I feel they taste too good. I wish they weren't as great as they are. But I seem to be addicted. There is no hope for me. I don't know for sure how healthy they are considered by the "organic-whole food" group of people. There are many levels of healthy. Here are the reasons I like them.

1. They taste amazing.
2. They have a low glycemic index.
3. They are filling.
4. It beats eating a Snickers to take care of a sweet tooth.

Here are a couple of drawbacks. But not good enough reasons to stop me.

1. They are not certified organic.
2. They contain soy.
3. They taste too good. Children will find them and when you go for one they will be all gone.

Thumb Double?!

We all know how shallow America has become when it comes to "beauty". I don't have to throw around examples to make you see my point. It's clear to everyone that "perfection" is shoved down our throats at every turn. I will give you one really good example though. It shocked me. Then the more I tought of it, it appalled me!

I was visiting my cousin Alison recently. If you know me well, you know that I adore her. I brag about her all of the time. She is so beautiful. She is an AMAZING dancer. I mean, take your breath away good dancer. She is so funny. That is my favorite thing about her. She has the best laugh, and such a good sense of humor. We have so many good memories of laughing together. (Oh, and she is Michael Jackson's biggest fan...it's true and I had to say it. ) She was born when I was 12. I loved her from the moment I saw her. I always told my Aunt, "She is going to be beautiful when she grows up." And I was right. She is. :) But there is one tiny thing......well two tiny cute things that make her unique. She has brachydactyly, a rare condition also known as clubbed thumb.


I was visiting her this week and she told me she had been reading up on this condition. She said there is a Facebook page for other "toe-thumbers." I was surprised to look at all of the photos and see that they looked just like Alison's thumbs. I have always thought they were so cute. I had just never seen anyone else with them.....But there are. And there is someone FAMOUS with them...but sadly..she is not able to wear her thumbs proudly. Either by her own choice, or the choice of her sponsors.



Megan Fox is the well know actress from Transformers. She is beautiful and talented. But when the story broke that she suffered from brachydactyly, it threatened to knock her from magazine covers and conversations about sexiest women alive for the rest of her days....Well, it turns out that most people didn't care about her thumbs and she has managed to hold her spot in the limelight. She did need a bit of help though.

Much to the chagrin of her fellow brachydactyly sufferers around the globe, she (or her sponsors) insisted on having someone else's thumbs appear in the Motorola commercial for the Super Bowl. She employed a THUMB DOUBLE. I don't even want to know what a thumb double makes. I am sure it would make me angry and would spiral into a whole different post....

I wouldn't have cared about this story if it wasn't for my sweet cousin feeling offended over it. I don't blame her. I would be too. She has the cutest little daughter who will also be beautiful when she grows up.

Alison said she keeps checking to see if Ryland has little "toe-thumbs"
I asked her, "Do you hope she doesn't?"
"No, I hope she does!" she said.
I was glad to hear it.

My Teeth Are Floating!

I was in the car with Beau today. I said something to him and he looked at me like I was crazy. That seems to be happening more and more as he gets older. We had stopped for coffee earlier in the day and were still driving. There was no "end" in sight, and I didn't know if I was going to make it. Let's just say that at that moment in time, I was glad the Trenta had NOT arrived in Washington yet. I would have been in trouble.

I couldn't take it any longer and yelled,
"MY TEETH ARE FLOATING!"

Beau's head snapped around and he looked at my mouth. "What's wrong?", he asked. I repeated it calmly. He was still looking at my mouth.
"Ya know...I'm going to wet my pants," I said.
"What does that have to do with your teeth?! And why are they floating?"

I took a deep breath, and I thought of how to explain this. I pointed out that if your bladder was really, really full, it would overflow and keep filling up, up, up, until your teeth began to float. He grimaced and shook his head. "That doesn't even make sense and I don't know what you are talking about" He said. I told him it's an expression that everyone says. It's a very common phrase. He just put his head phones back in and stared ahead. I insisted he listen to me. "So you won't ever say that phrase?" I asked. "NO", he said...."That's just gross...pee coming out of your mouth?!" Well.....now that he put it that way.
I may never say it again myself...

I can't believe how wide the generational gap can be at times. I sat there (squirming) and laughing to myself at his disdain. I remember thinking the same thing about my parents from time to time. The thing is, I know I have carried on some of their expressions. Isn't that how it works? Things like:

Two things you can't practice for, parenting and drowning.

Don't wish your life away.

Hurting Dogs Bite.

I have to pee like a race horse. (sorry)

Y is a crooked letter.

It's like pulling hens teeth

How does it feel to want?

Hurts so good

It would make a bull dog bite it's chain

If you run with a skunk, you will smell like a skunk,

Does Raggedy Ann have cotton knees?

I'll knock that chip off your shoulder

You look like death standing on a corner eating Life Savers

Jodi, Jess and Candi...I am thinking of a few others....and you know which ones, but I would lose followers if I repeated them. They have to do with nuns, wishes, ponies, and 3rd graders

I looked up the expression "My teeth are floating" on Wiktionary and here is the real meaning....Beau

my back teeth are floating
(informal) I have a strong need to urinate.
Where's the restroom? My back teeth are floating!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!

You will receive a $38.00 Starbucks Card and an autographed picture of Chick Magnet. Woo-Hoo!

After Autumn drew your name out of the bowl I told her "Ohhh, Nicole is going to LOVE you!" She looked at me and said "Mom, like she doesn't love me already..."

Thanks for following Nicole! Congratulations again on your ADORABLE baby boy.

In fact, he is so cute I have to post his photos here for your enjoyment. Anyone who makes children this cute deserves our rooster's mug shot.


Congratulations Nicole Dossey!

Contest Drawing

One of my followers mentioned to me that I forgot to say when the drawing would be. I guess that little piece of info might prove useful. Bear with me....I'm learning as I go here.

Ok.....I have surpassed my goal of fifty followers. I am so HAPPY! Thank you all for being so supportive and sweet under such extreme pressure. (I think Sam called me a shameless beggar.....but then he also said he loves to read my blog, so I think he was just being cute.)
You won't regret following My Kite Dream...we will have fun.....trust me. Lots of things are coming down the pipe!

Oh..... And we are going to draw the name TODAY! I will send the lucky winner their Starbucks Card and autographed picture of Chick Magnet on Tuesday.

Enjoy this sunny day!

Welcome Jerry!

So you all know about Jerry. He is the one who helped me so much when I first got my chickens. He is the one who shares his wisdom and humor freely with customers. He is now a follower of my blog. He has emerged from the woodwork! I went in to Elenbaas Country Store today to give him a picture of Chick Magnet in his green outfit.

There are new little baby chicks in there....so tempting! We discussed getting a back up Chick Magnet just in case the unforeseeable were to happen. I guess I could house him in his own little bachelor pad out back behind the hen house.

Jerry said he thought about googling Chick Magnet, but then instantly changed his mind. That search would bring up the wrong sort of chick. Oh that made me laugh....he said there would be no way to explain that one.

I was in there a couple of days ago and asked them if they had ever heard of removing spurs by using a baked potato. They looked at each other and I promise you they were silent for a full minute. "What, have you never heard of that?" I asked. He told me had heard of a baked potato next to a chicken on a plate, but never ON him."

I thought they were going to say...

"Oh Yeah, the old baked potato trick...farmers in Lynden have been using that one for decades. It's FOOL PROOF"......

I guess I will have to look into that one some more. If I try it and it works, then it will be big news around here. I will earn a little respect as a true chicken farmer. :)

I told Jerry that when I get 100 followers I want to celebrate big with Chick Magnet. Host a fun run with him or something. He said I should bring him back to where it all began and have his photo taken with the Elenbaas employees. That hit me as a GREAT idea!!! My friend Wendy offered to make a cake. Maybe we can get a hen to jump out of it....just for kicks.

Chick Magnet would love that, I am sure.

I just wanted to welcome Jerry to our little community. And thank him for all of his great help.


Michelle

Chick Magnet

Ok....I haven't picked up Chick Magnet since he was a baby, so it took a lot of courage today to grab hold of him. We found a perfect wee little leprechaun outfit for him to wear in his photo shoot.

My friend Wendy came over to help me catch him and her husband Brian took video. I had to chuckle when she showed up in her fancy boots with heels. She pulled up her pant legs above the top of her boots and we headed out to the chicken yard. I had already been out there eyeing him down. He seemed to sense something was afoot. He was getting angry so I shut him in the hen house to give myself a breather. I held my foot against the door as he flung himself against it. I could hear him calling me filthy names from inside the whole time. I think my laughing at him made him more angry at me.

Wendy and I gave ourselves a pep talk and started after him. Remember, Leghorn Roosters are the meanest breed out there. This was risky. I chased him around a few times and finally grabbed a hold of him. I wasn't worried about him pecking at me violently or trying to spur me.....I was worried Brian had just filmed my butt crack for all of my followers to see. So I stood there yelling ..... "Brian!! Did you get my BUTT CRACK??!!" while Chick Magnet was flapping in my arms.

We then proceeded to get him into his little outfit. I found if I closed his eyes it helped immensely. We then set him down and had such a good laugh while he ran around the yard in his little green suit. He DOVE under the hens to hide....I screamed at him to stop being chicken. (I know, not funny) We snapped photos for him to autograph tomorrow. And I have already printed one out....it's a great shot. In case you are worried, he was not harmed during this process. I mean really....if it wasn't for his popularity on this blog, he would have been soup long ago. I tried to post a video but am having trouble getting it to work. I will figure it out.... Stay tuned...there is much more to come.