Update

So there are many reason we have not been updating the blog frequently. Among them were a computer failure, password loss, 5 kids, laziness, and laziness.  Did I mention laziness?

 

We are still alive.  Still in Alaska. Still working.  "Chevron" is getting old but still gets around.

 

 

I can't complain, at times I get paid to ride around playing in the mud and dirt.

 

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So we have been working on our finances, budgeting, and working our way out of debt.  I listen to the Dave Ramsey Show frequently and as a family we are working towards being debt free.  Sometimes it means forgoing some unnecessary wants like eating out, or eating "mild cheddar" instead of "sharp cheddar" (family joke: sharp cheddar is 40% more expensive at the local store), store bought bread and tortillas (Lisa makes all our bread and tortillas as home).  Lisa really got into saving money one day and allowed me to cut her hair to save $50.  Proof below. 
For the majority of society talking about Debt and Financial Health is an off-limits topic, something you don't talk about.  As a child I remember my parents having a family debt free party.  They had survived the loss of a home to fire and built a new home and struggled to the point they became debt free.  Those choices they made enabled them to make decisions best for the family and us kids rather than being tied to a job to support a debt.  Debt becomes a cancer when left unchecked and makes you a slave to it.  We are happy to report that we have paid off all debts but our home mortgage.  We are in the process of selling our first home (the one we built while living in a pop-up trailer in the garage) which will go toward paying off our mortgage on our new home.  Although it has been tough at times, we have been blessed beyond measure.      

Please don't think the next few pictures and paragraphs are a result of our frugal penny pinching practices.  This was an experiment for fun and a test run for an emergency preparedness fair.

 Last week we made Wheat Meat.  The process takes wheat and separates the wheat into 3 parts, the bran, starch, and wheat gluten protein.  We took about 18 cups of wheat flour we ground using hard white wheat, added water until it formed a dough.  Then rinsed the dough in a 5 gallon bucket of water until the bran fell out and the starch rinsed into the water.

We then formed, sliced, and boiled the wheat protein in beef broth.  Then we sliced it and added fajita spices and fried it up in a skillet.  What you end up with is a tofu-like wheat gluten protein meat.  My cost analysis makes it about 30 cents a pound (not counting labor). If you believe the internet, the wheat meat contains almost twice the protein the same amount of chicken or beef steak contains.  Several co-workers tried it and agreed it was not just edible but a delicious alternative to meat.  They then all conspired to come to my house when the zombie apocalypse occurs :)

Yes, Lisa's home made tortillas. Topped with a little Greek yogurt and cucumber pico.

We recently played my favorite board game - Monopoly -      I went to jail 10 times during the game and only passed Go 3 times.   I still won.

We got ourselves a couple of pigs again this summer. Should be fun. We were a little late for the kids getting into 4H for the State Fair. So these 2 pigs will will likely be filling our freezer come September or October.

 

 

Well that's is for now.   Lisa will hopefully post again soon with pictures of the kids.