I need your Support

Please take a second to read this. At the end if you don’t care about supporting Mito Canada and my friend, then will you please support ME by helping me raise the money for Mito Canada? Every dollar will make a difference. Would you also forward this to someone else that may be willing to help me?


So here it is….

Running has helped me overcome obstacles in my life. In fact, I believe it is running that has helped me overcome my addictions. I run for stress relief. I run for the adrenalin. I run for the fitness. I run to prove to myself that I can do it. I run for me.

Training for my marathon is about MY goals. MY dreams, and well…me. But I don’t want life to be all about me me me. So how can I take a passion of mine and use it to help someone else? After all, I believe God calls us to use our talents and passions to help others. So I am trying to use my passion just that way.

I am running the Ottawa Marathon, May 2012. Training for a marathon is done one step at a time, one km at a time. In fact, marathon included, I will be running 1125kms to train for the event.

My goal is to raise one dollar for every km I run. The marathon is a journey, and I want every step of the way to be about something greater than myself.

I decided to raise money for Mito Canada for 2 reasons:

One, because my friend Sarah has a son with Mitochondrial disease. I can’t be there to help her with her daily struggles, and I can’t fix her son. So what can I do to show her that I care?? I can raise money that will go directly to her family and other families in Canada that struggle with the same thing. Since the money raised will not only go towards desperately needed research, but also help her directly, this is my way of telling her that I care.

The second reason is because of Mito's slogan "running for those that can't ". After becoming paralyzed from a tumor that was crushing my spinal cord, and doctors telling me that I may never walk again, I can't tell you how grateful I am every time I step out the door to run. God gave me back the use of my legs and using them to help others seems to be a good way to say thank you.

Running has always cured my ailments, and it is my prayer that my running can in turn cure someone else.

Thank you for taking the time to support not only me on my journey, but also Team Mito. Every little bit of support helps to make a difference in the lives of those affected by this terrible disease, and some of them are in your neighborhood.

Please…If you could support me on my journey I would really appreciate it. Donating is EASY. Just click on the link that I provided. Donating is done on line and is secure. You even get a tax receipt. If the link below does not work, simply go to Mitocanada.org, find the donations page and type in Alyson McNish to link up with my page.

Thank you for helping me.

Alyson.

Click here to access my donation page

Winter on the Farm

Sooo.. The pictures from the previous post were taken two days ago. Notice the lack of snow and inclement weather?? lol   Yesterday  the freezing rain came and fell with a vengeance. In fact we were beginning to prepare for Ice Storm 2012.  For those of you that remember Ice Storm 1998 you will understand. For those of you that don't, google it.    Anyhoo, this morning was above zero and raining on TOP of the ice covering all the trees and ground. 

The kids were ready to head to school this morning in slushy pants and rubber boots when THIS happened..

In like 10 minutes. 

Snowflakes began falling the size of my face. O.K maybe not my face, but the size of my nose for sure, and I have a big nose.

      Notice the slushy mess still on the lawn?? I'm pretty sure yesterday you could skate on that.  Notice the chicken coop? I bet the chickens are pretty happy to be 'stuck' inside. They are spoiled I tell you.

I would not be surprised if we lost power today.  Look at my beautiful Hydrangea bush. The picture on the left is what it looked like all encrusted with ice and just as the snow began to fall.  The picture on the right is two hours later taken at the same angle. Notice how much lower than the tree in the background it is now? If that snaps I think I will cry.

Anyway, I'm not complaining. The temperature is AMAZING (tomorrow will be a different story when the temps hit in the sub teens).   I was missing the snow, and the fact that is flooded yesterday means two things:

1) Good skating for the outdoor pond
2) Tobogganing!
3) The start of our snow pile/hill at the end of our driveway.  Oops that's 3. Whatever.

I love winter. I don't love it when the temperatures hit the -20's, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE  a fluffy, sunny, wintery day.  It is just so pretty out, and as long as you plan to start your car earlier, and drive super slow, the country drive into town in amazing.

Besides...having a mild winter reminds me of all the spring 'to do' lists that happen around here. I am glad to be able to forget about them for at least another month.

Winter Chickens

I have not talked about my chickens in a while, so I thought I would show you what they look like this winter.

When the weather is above zero I let them roam the yard. This year, because of the VERY mild winter we are having, they have been out much more than usual. The grass is no longer growing, but it is still there for the pickings. The only problem is if it rains on them and then freezes at night. This is super dangerous because they will get pneumonia on me.  Today it is rather mild, but because there is a chance of rain they are once again 'cooped' up. lol

No worries about nutritious snacks however. In this picture they are fighting over Audrey's left over toast from this morning. We through in leftover grains and vegetables for them as well as fresh hay to munch on. A They love to spend the day pecking at a nice organic cabbage.

This is the new window made of plexi glass that my amazing husband put in for me today. Two weeks ago there was a real window left over from times past here. Apparently when chickens peck at it enough in cold temperatures it breaks.  The girls can been seen checking it out here. Peck away ladies...  The 'window' on the left hand side is closed for the winter. In the summer it is a screen to allow as much air as possible in the coop.

Just LOOK at the light coming into the coop today! Not only does this allow the ladies to soak up ample Vitamin D in the winter, it also heats up the coop.  This is so important when the temperature drops below    -10C.  
The bedding in the coop is now about 18 inches high.  It is a perfect mix of carbon and nitrogen.  Did you know that if you mix the two properly (poop with wood shavings), it actually COMPOSTS!!! Do you know what that means??? It means the composting bedding CREATES heat from the ground up, AND it does not smell in my coop.  In the spring, I plan on bagging this stuff as it will do wonders for your garden.

The chickens also spend their time scratching it and eating any bugs that may feel like emerging. It is so clean in my coop now, you could eat lunch here.  Seriously. 

That red heat lamp is for when the temperatures drop to -10C. It helps keep the water from freezing, and brings the temps in the coop up a few notches.  If the girls are spending most of their time conserving heat their egg production drops.  Frankly, I think it is just more humane that way as well.   The white light was substituting for our window until we could get the new one in.  It was almost pitch black in the coop without it. Artificial light is good but certainly not as nice as the real thing.

So needless to say I have cooped up but happy chickens right now.  I am learning a TON about SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE. I can't wait to show you what crazy things we are going to be doing in the spring with the meat chickens.

Who says this farming thing can't be fun.

Marathon 2012

Where is winter? Not on the farm apparently. I suppose I should be happy since we are getting so much accomplished on the farm due to the NO SNOW!  I have farm news to share with you, but for today I wanted to let you know about my Marathon Goal for 2012. I'm running my first marathon and need YOUR HELP!  I am trying to raise a dollar for every km I run, so would you consider helping me?

To check out why I am doing what I am doing you can click HERE to access my donation page. You can also keep track of my progress via my FIT MOM blog if you like.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaase consider helping me. Pretty please???

2012..So busy

As you can see, we are very very busy here on the farm today. We put those cross country skis to good use ;)

Got D?

Animals need sunshine as well. In fact, I can guarantee you that my eggs and chicken contains a lot of it. Happy, healthy animals deserve the sunshine. It was -20C this morning and the chicken's were NOT happy. As soon as the sun shone on the coop I opened the door and threw out the hay.   They loved it.

We also bundled ourselves up and soaked up the sun...Nothing like a little Vitamin D to get rid of the winter blahs.

and yes we were all still in our Jammie's ;)

Who needs snow gear when you have jammies. We are enjoying our break together, and today there is enough snow the grass is no longer poking through the snow.

Adam and I have been busy reading about family friendly farming and dreaming of the years to come. We are excited about our decision to farm the land of his ancestors and looking forward to what God has in store for us.

The learning curve is steep but worth it. Just making the decision has left a calm and joyous feeling on our hearts knowing we are doing what we were meant to do.

I've also began training for my first marathon.  I'm running with team Mito this year and excited to start my journey.  All things worth doing are difficult and take time. One step at a time we will farm. One step at a time I will run 43kms. One step at a time we will enjoy life.



Christmas 2011

This year my husband worked from the 23rd to the 28th of December (on nights right now). He ended up missing out on a few things while dealing with people not having a great Christmas, but that is the job of a police officer and consequences of being married to a hero ;)

I don't mind really. He was able to show up several times, and frankly I like seeing him in uniform. Merry Christmas to me ;)

The last few days could have been quite stressful, but I'm pretty sure this was the most relaxing Christmas I have ever had.   By the time Christmas came, and dinner was prepared I seriously just sat back watching my kids play with their new toys.

Although I was annoyed the kids were in school until the 23rd, and most of the baking was done by me alone, I think having the kids in school this year allowed me so much more time to be prepared.
My Christmas list was finished in October, most of the presents found (via used sites) by November, and all of my shopping was complete by the first week of December...stockings and all.
It was great. That left me enough time for decorating, cookie baking, devotions and extra time to enjoy with the kids.  We even fit in a dinner party and two date nights. 

Here are a few things I did that work really really well:

1) I keep a Christmas/birthday list on my computer all year round. Anytime I go shopping or see a toy or have an idea for the kids I write it down.  This saves my brain. This also allows me to know what kind of toys are out there.

2) By September/October I have a really good idea what the kids want/need. I start to search the net for the items and begin price comparing. I've also bought a few items throughout the year that I knew they would love.

3) I find what I can gently used, or homemade via etsy.com. I also price compare for weeks.

4) We save all year long for Christmas starting in January. This way it is not such a blow to our account.

5) I sell toys the kids have outgrown to help with the budget. 

6) I don't go overboard. Each child gets 2 things just for themselves. The rest is for all the kids to play with together.  

7) WE FOCUS ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT.  We spend extra time together and I remember to enjoy the time we have together. This week is the best present. We are just going to hang out together in our pj's, play board games, build train tracks, and pray for more snow so we can test out our cross country skiis purchased on kijiji of course ;)

I hope you all had a merry Christmas. I certainly did.

School Projects and Other school stuff

This week completes our first semester in our year long school field trip ;)  Things have gone well for the most part. I've been disappointed with a few things, but also pleasantly surprised by others.  All in all, the kids school is a wonderful school...for a school.

What I am not adjusting to is this final week leading up to Christmas. You see as homeschoolers we can do what we like when we like. Normally we are finished school in early December. This gives us time to attend special activities, make cookies, and have the time for all the extra projects we started. And do it all at a nice calm HAPPY pace.

For some reason, my children's school board thinks it is a good idea to do school until the 23rd of December.  I'm bothered because we are finding it hard to do all the simple things like baking, and attending special events AND finish the school projects.

Kind of annoying. O.K REALLY annoying. I miss my babies this week. If they did not have to hand in the projects, and some other stuff I think I would pull them.  Hmmm...I think I'll pull them anyway on Thursday to go skating. Oh wait, they have an ENTIRE week after January to do that. You know, when all the Christmas fun stuff and special events are OVER. 

Anyway, that is what I get for joining the 'system'. 

So here is a picture of Lara's medieval project that we have been working on. We have yet to complete the dragon, but that will be for our own amusement.  I know what you are thinking.. 'OUR' project???? Have I become the mother I said I wouldn't be? The one that does the project for the kid???   No.  I promise you that she did just about everything. She now knows how to sew and use the sewing machine. But she is 9. I have to be there to help her cut some things and show her  how to do it. 

It was 'our thing', because I got to teach her and work with her a little more this past month and that is time I will treasure.  I'm not sure how she will see it though. I'm not the most patient person in the world and frankly not crafty...so this was a wee bit like a thorn in my side BUT it is done, I THINK Lara is proud of it, and not too many tears were shed ;)

Now if we still home schooled this could have been done an hour a day in the afternoon during quiet time. Not after a long day of school and on the weekends when there is a TON of special Christmas stuff going on and other homework and activities.  I'm just sayin'. I guess I'm still a homeschooler at heart. Perhaps some day again.

The Stockings are hanging

Can you hear the fire crackle?? I can't either, but do you think if I do this every year someone will feel sorry for me and build me a fireplace???