Super Harvest Moon, September 9, 2014

Last night I had some friends on facebook talking about the super moon and even saw a few pictures. We live in a valley so we don't see the moon until its over the mountain. But it was neat because I caught a sort of sequence on my camera.

Easy Homemade Donuts

Try not to drool.

!!WARNING!! If you are looking for a healthy recipe, then click out of this page. But, if you want something simple and delicious, then you have come to the right place.  These donuts are the opposite of healthy. They are a rare treat for us, probably because I'm conscious of the calories and sugar and whatnot (delicious, delicious calories). I remember my Pop making these for us a few times when we were younger.

For dinner, I was making this Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings and the recipe actually calls for 2 cans of biscuits and I only use a little more than half of one, so I needed to find a way to use the rest. (PS, if you want the recipe for the chicken and dumplings, you can find it here..

So here's the recipe I use for the donuts...here, listen closely.

1 can biscuits

Shortening or canola oil.

1/2 cup of sugar (I recommend granulate, I tried powdered once and it turned out soggy and weird.)

Cinnamon. 

Preheat a pan or a small pot of shortening or oil on medium (honestly I would recommend shortening over oil, but oil was all I had so I used that but with shortening, they would absorb less (does that make sense? No? Just go with your gut). You can have a lot in there or you can about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. That's what I do.

These are the biscuits I used. One time, we use the ones with honey in them and they were delish!

You can cut your biscuits into strips (or logs or whatever you want to call them) or little nuggets (of course, then you would have to call them donuggets *snort*)

Before putting them in the oil you can test the oil by just pinching off a small piece and putting it in the oil/shortening. If it immediately sizzles and rises to the top, it should be ready. Then, go ahead and put a few more in there. Don't over crowd it though, leave an inch or two or space between each one. This will go really quick so stay on top of them, check the bottoms and when they are golden brown, flip them. I like to set them on a paper towel for a minute after they are done frying.

Mix together some sugar and cinnamon (I only like a little cinnamon, so this part is totally up to you...go crazy)

Then, they are done, and ready to be enjoyed!

I think Taylor liked them. Isn't he handsome?

You can eat this with a spoon if you want to. ;]

Animals and Birds

I have been accumulating some photos of birds and animals over the past few months and I got enough that I could make a blog post about it.  =]

I MAY be wrong, but these birds are Snipes. (who knew there was actually a bird called a snipe?!)

This is blurry but I caught him drinking some water! 

An ugly ol' Armadillo!

Mr. Cardinal waiting on the fence. 

I think this is some sort of woodpecker. 

Mr and Mrs. Cardinal enjoying the snow. 

I don't know why this picture is snowing...but ok. 

This doe was in our backyard. 

I could have sworn I got a picture of a bee on these flowers but I didn't, so heres. a picture of some flowers. 

This is my parent's neighbors cute little pup. 

Two pairs of ducks. 

All my ducks in a row. 

It's funny, these gees were not letting those ducks get too close. They would run them off. 

I love Canadian Geese. They are my favorite bird. A while back we had 20 or 30 on our pond at once. 

'Ol Oscar a few days before we got his haircut.

I'm glad I got a good reflection on this one. 

Beautiful!

Playing catch =]

We have two beavers on our pond. 

Butterfly.

I wish I could turn this!

CATCH BOY!

HOPE YOU ENJOYED =]

Cloth Diapering

So I decided pretty early in my pregnancy that I wanted to cloth diaper.  It seems to be the cheapest alternative to disposables, although less convenient.  We may spend $300-400 at first, but in the long run we will save hundreds, ESPECIALLY if we can use them for more than one baby. 

Taylor and I decided we would register for plenty of disposable as well to use for the first few months, or to even send to grandparents' houses. 

I have found a few brands that I really like.  I bought 1 Alvababy one size AIO the other day...they are only around $5 a diaper+insert which is a great deal, but they may come with weird defects or not even fit the baby which is why I only bought 1. However if they fit well and don't seem to have any problems I will go buy tons more because they have some darn cute prints and for only $5 you can't beat that.

I also SPLURGED!!! and got a Charlie Banana diaper yesterday at Target (I flipped out (happy flip out, not mad) and begged Taylor for one...it took a few minutes haha.  (Did I mention I have a wonderful husband...not to mention super handsome! ;] ))  The Charlie Banana cds were $20 a piece...which I never would have considered before yesterday but I changed my mind and got one. (That's totally acceptable to do when you're pregnant btw)

A few other cloth diapers I have been eyeing are Bum Genius ($$$), Flip diaper ($$), and Econobum ($)...I want to have 20 or more diapers to start out with because I could tell myself I'm gonna do laundry every day but I would be kidding myself.  (But I also don't want just one brand because some brands are better for night time or outings.)

Also, I have a friend on Facebook who cloth diapers and she has sewn a few of her own, which is something I could do...because I love sewing and the more I see and hear about cloth diapers the more I love them..so win win!

So I'm going to put up links so that those who are interested and want to start cloth diapering can have an idea of some cloth diaper brands and their reviews...because I had no idea where to start... and I am still lost on a few things.


Flip Diapers
http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=139&products_id=2220
Flip Diapers review
http://youtu.be/VQRvF1S_oMI
Econobum Diapers
http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=138&products_id=2271
Econobum Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HES2ULiTszc
Random cloth diaper site
http://www.shopdiaper.com/cloth-diapers/one-size-diapers