I am a runner!

Towards the beginning of September, I started running again. Nothing was even chasing me! I started running in 2013 and ran my first 5k in December of 2013. Pre-run pic of Homestead Phil, his winter beard, and I.

I ran a second 5k in 2014.


I started running a few times since then but time would get away from me. I am chubby and I'm sure it looks unnatural when I'm out there giving it a go! When I went away for a Girls' Weekend recently, I even lured two of my cousins into joining me!

I feel like I'm cheating though as I don't just run. I apply a Run / Walk / Run philosophy by Jeff Galloway. I use an app called Easy 5k which makes "running" doable for me. Find the app here on the App Store. Jeff believes that even the best of marathon runners should take a walk break for quicker recovery, motivate non-runners to run, improvement of overall run times.

When I first started running this go around, I started with the same ratio I used previously which was run (or in my case jog slowly) for one minute then walk for 30 seconds. My times were in the tank... slower than ever before! I kept at it though! I then looked up the various ratios to see what ratio I should be using for my per mile times. I was WAY off! I needed to be at run 10 seconds / walk 45 seconds. Say, what? Hardly sounds like a run at all! Looked more like a walk with run breaks rather than vice versa! I dropped 1 minute and 45 seconds to my mile time switching from 60 sec run / 30 sec walk! That moved my ratio to 15 sec run / 30 sec walk which dropped another 15-20 seconds to my mile time! Here's my view on some of my long run days! If that doesn't motivate me to run, I don't know what will?!

After a week or so at that ratio, it was time to switch to another ratio. I tried 15 sec walk / 15 sec run. WOW! That did not provide enough walk breaks so I switched back to 15 / 30 and then tried 20/40. After the 15/15 ratio, something happened to my calves. My next run two days later at 15/30 still caused pain to my calves. I took a few days off from running and tried it again. I could make it about a mile at a fairly decent time for my ratio and abilities but after a mile my calves hurt fairly badly. :( So I bought some new running shoes and new what I call "old lady" inserts. I've been using inserts in my shoes for a number of years due to pain in my heels. I used my new running shoes and new inserts last Saturday and my calves still hurt after just over a mile. After consulting some running friends, it seems as though I injured myself (clearly!) and that I wasn't giving enough recovery time before trying again. I also may need to bump back down to 15 / 30 until I know for sure that my calves are healed. Usually it's my lungs that give me a hard time but I've been fairly good about using my inhaler as I'm preparing to run. So here I sit, six days after my last run, longing to get out there again but don't want to be in pain. This getting old stuff is for the birds! (See what I did there? haha) I'm hoping to get out there tomorrow with my new shoes and inserts again! I really do enjoy it! It also somehow helps provide clearer thought to my mind after I've run.

So any non-runners or previous-runners want to download the app and join in on my fun? The fall is the best time to start running! I much prefer running in cooler weather than in hot weather! The first run is 15 minutes. You can do it!

Virtual Fireside Chat

This year and last year, we've hosted a Virtual Fireside Chat for each of our Affiliates to participate in. They follow along on their computers to a PowerPoint presentation while connecting either through a microphone / speakers on their computer or dial in by phone. Some of our Rent The Chicken Courses for our Affiliates are lecture format but the Fireside Chat is a conversation. We ask for everyone to be in a comfy fireside chair with a tasty fireside beverage to set the tone of the meeting. My fireside beverage of choice is hot cocoa with marshmallows. :)

The purpose was to have a time to determine what can be done differently and better. It was a time of sharing of what worked as well as what didn’t work both with Rent The Chicken and with Hatch The Chicken. We discussed our 2018 goals and how we attained them as well as goals for 2019. That Fireside Chat was exactly what some of our Affiliates needed to have to light a fire sparking out of the box thinking, new ways to accomplish goals, and new perspective! Rent The Chicken would not be what we are without the farmers and homesteaders offering our service. We encourage them and they encourage us!

We are also egg-cited as we plan our Annual Rent The Chicken Owners Conference which will be held in January. It's when as many of our Affiliates join us for fun, informative sessions, goal setting, and relationship building! It's also when we announce our 2018 Top Performer! EEK!

Here's a throw back photo of our Rent The Chicken Owners Conference a few years back!

Investing in the Next Generation

A few months ago, the Director of Children's Ministry of our region spoke at our church. I knew before he came that I likely needed to step up to help with Girls' Ministry. It was a tough decision to make because Our Girl was with us and she didn't receive me well no matter where we were. It would not be enjoyable if I helped in her Girls' Ministry class. Not enjoyable for her, for me, the leaders, nor the other girls in the class. When I made myself available, I was offered to do crafts with all of the girls once a month and fill in when needed. THAT I could commit to! I sure do like crafts! There are BINS and BINS and BINS of craft items that need to be sorted through. There's enough craft supplies to do a craft a week for a year! We're sticking to a craft a month though :)

About a month ago, the fine folks at Renshaw Farms that I blogged about recently donated pumpkins for the girls to paint. Boy do they LOVE to paint! :) Here are some photos of the pumpkins!

This week was my second craft night with them. There has definitely been some hand-holding from one of the other leaders to direct me on what crafts are on the list to do. There are widows and widowers that are pastors and missionaries within our church's network. Each Girls' Ministry group is designated to make birthday cards for some of the widows and widowers. We had six celebrating birthdays in the month of November. Boy do these girls like to design and create cards out of plain paper, stamps, and markers! Each widow and widower will receive THREE personally handcrafted card from our girls. What a treat! I snapped a selfie of these three with me before going home for the night. Who wouldn't want cards from these amazing kiddos?!?

Before our niece Brooklynn went back home after being with us for the summer, she convinced each kiddo she hung out with this summer to join an interactive game called Roblox. Have you heard of it? There's like a gazillion games built into this one app. The preferred game is called Meep City. It actually teaches an incredible amount of responsibility to these kiddos! First and foremost, they should only be "friends" on the game with people that they actually know. They can live chat in the game or they can have private messages individually or start group chats. In Meep City, they have to earn coins which can be done by watering and picking flowers, fishing then selling the fish, and even racing cars. Fairly realistic, right? haha With their coins, they can purchase items for in their house, purchase an upgraded house, or even buy items for their friends! They have to save save save if they want to buy that golden toilet for 2500 coins! I apparently have been deemed the "Fairy Godmother" among these kiddos! I may or may not have purchased a golden toilet for one or more of them! I have a fancy house that I have saved for in my strategic flower picking and fishing marathons. I don't mind gifting elaborate things for the kiddos especially if I see a new item that comes available while they are in school! I can surprise them when they sign on and then they don't have to buy the item! I have learned that I cannot buy a new house for them and they have to save save save for a new / bigger house. They REALLY like to interact with me on the game and I REALLY enjoy it! Plus it gives me something to talk about with them when we are in person. It's crazy that they have so much to say to me when they didn't necessarily have much to say to me before. I don't think it's just because I have a castle full of fun things and buy stuff for them on the game! :) Legit... I am fun! I about pogo sticked myself right into one of their showers the other day! Oops! So here's a picture of my fancy castle decked out in Rent The Chicken blue! I just wish I could have a little chicken coop and sell the eggs for money, too! I guess that would be more like Farmville and less like Meep City then! :) Find me if you play, I'm AuntieJTB231 of course! I'm the one decked out in a blue shirt, jeans, and a headset just like I'm often found in real life!

Looks like it's time to pick my flowers so I can gift some more items!

2019 Rentals now available!

Hello!

Homestead Phil & I hosted a Facebook Live video today. First time in awhile so i think we were a little rusty and technology was not on our side! We announced that we are officially accepting deposits for 2019 rentals! Click here to watch the video!

Here's a link to all of our locations. Click on the one closest to you and then you will find the packages available for your area. Click here for Pricing and Locations

Here's a link to all of our locations offering Hatch The Chicken! Again click on the location closest to you for more information!

As you may already know, we have a purchase package right on RentTheChicken.com for those who want to start with backyard chickens where we do not currently have a location but need extra support than just starting on your own. Click here for more information!

We also generated some Coupon Code for TheChickenNetwork.com just for today!

• 20% off our Play Set - FBLivePlaySet
• 10% off all books - FBLiveBooks
• 35% off all coops - FBLiveCoops

Who is ready to Rent The Chicken?!? Chat with you soon!

Renshaw Farms Pumpkin Fest!

If your local Pumpkin Fest or fall festival is anything like the one we have close to us at Renshaw Farms, gather up some peeps and go to it! You don't even have to take kids to enjoy it! Although we didn't race on stuffed horses and we didn't try out the pipe roll nor the corn pit, we saw people we knew, watched others shoot corn cobs through the corn cob shooter, and had a blast!

And you know how I love those things where I stick my head in and get my photo taken?! They had plenty of those as well :)

Did you ever take a selfie with one though? That Homestead Phil has some good ideas!

It was a farm so of course there was an Animal Park and of course I had to pet the cow :)

Did I mention the corn maze? Oh that was fun, too! We didn't even get too lost!

Check out this incredible view from the patch and corn maze area:

I met this guy while we were there too. He was a little bit handsy! haha

Oh.. and we ate the most delish apple pie ever! It may be worth paying the entry fee just to buy another slice of pie! Our neighbor is working there so maybe I can ask her to pick up a slice for me - or a whole pie! haha No idea how we didn't snap a pic of the slice of pie! Enjoy pumpkineverythingseason or as everyone used to refer to it: Fall!

Just like that, she moved.

We made it three months with Our Girl. Our Girl was to be with our family forever. She was matched with us! Our case worker and her team of workers along with us agreed that she was destined to be with us down to her round face like mine and blue eyes like Phil's. Unfortunately, due to circumstances that we never could have imagined and the three of us being miserable more than any of us wanted to admit, we gave our notice that Our Girl needed to be someone else's girl. :( It still hurts our hearts and will for quite some time.

We learned she was moving at a regularly scheduled case worker visit about 10 minutes before she was due to get off of the bus. Even though we gave our 30 day notice, we had no idea that there was even a possibility that she would move the day of the meeting. At the direction of her case workers, we packed her clothes (and had to take inventory of it according to protocol) and knew someone would be by at a later time to pick up the rest of her items. It was exactly like a number of her previous moves - abrupt. It was the exact opposite of their goal for her to be moved to us. Just like that, she moved.

This leaves our hearts broken and our arms empty again. It's all fresh just in time for Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month. There's a month for everything now, right? I've known about this month for far too many years as we started our Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Journey in 2010. So now we are both 42 years old. We have had two foster kiddos abruptly moved one of which was to stay forever while we were told the other was very likely to become available for adoption. And we've experienced nine miscarriages. So now, what? We have no idea. Infant adoption is still an option; however, it's very expensive AND mental health issues are still a very valid concern. Granted with infant adoption, there likely will not be any attachment issues BUT birth mother still has 30 days to change her mind no questions asked. Standard foster care is still an option which is how we had our first kiddos placed. Foster to adopt is still an option. We know more questions to ask next time around. Unfortunately, due to my age and lack of cooperation of my body, pregnancy with the help of treatment is not an option. Can we still get pregnant without intervention? Highly doubtful as it hasn't happened since 2014. We might just stick to being a super awesome aunt and uncle duo. That also makes my heart hurt. For as long as I can remember, one of my goals has always been to "get married and have babies". I'm fairly certain the goal wasn't chicken babies!

Thank you for being part of this journey. It's not an easy one but it is ours so we'll continue to walk in it, own it, learn from it, grow through it, and come out blessed no matter the outcome.