tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081Thu, 19 Feb 2026 10:18:22 +0000giveawayrural lifeguineascountry giveawaydogshorsesKansaskeetsrecipedaily lifefoodgardenRingorenovationsunriseflowerslife updateskyawardchickenscloudscatscookieseggssnowwinterhealthy dietpaint horsephotographystormGritOhioTrixiedietpaleo dietpondprimal dietFluffLeahToriblog designcountry morningnew jobroosterssunflowersvacationwhole30zazzleaustralian shepherdbeaded braceletbedbugsbiscuitschicken coopdreamssunsettornadoBarackChoice Hotels bedbugsComfort Inn bedbugsMicki KohlerPuerto Ricoanniversarybirdsdehydratorfamilykitchenlazy g ranchoz girl's picksskywatch fridayspinachspringstrawberry jamwaste notweight lossBoogieCiCiGerberGerber Baby ContestMIBMexican GherkinsMollyNikonStormyVeniceadvocareblessingsblog commentsbraceletbungalowcalendarscanningchickscomment formatcomputer crashcountry cutecucumbercucumbersfreedomfront porchgeesegiveaway pollgreenhouseguinea eggshawkhen and chickhorseflykittenmojonatureoklahomapicklesplantshoessimple lifetown shoot outAriatArizonaBaybeeCaliforniaCanadian geeseCiCi cats dogs TrixieCool-FindzEtsyGreensburgHaitiLadyRiderLee jeansLehmansLucyMUCK bootsP90XSallyScott RiceTractor SupplyVail MeadowsWort Hotelalpha roostersandrew weilangry roostersanimalsanticancerapple pieautumnbaby nameback-to-basicsbarred rockbetter bloggingblizzardblog blahsblog redesignblog renovationblog spotlightbloggingblogs of notebookbrowsersbuff orpingtonbuffalo chicken meatballsbuttercantaloupecaramelized coconut chipscarrot cupcakescattle drivecemeterychicken toopchocolate chilichocolate martinicoat rackcoffeecomfort zonecompliments vs complaintscontestcookbookcorncorporate greedcottoncountry diarycountry giveaway. Zazzlecountry lifecountry livingcreamy italian dressing recipecupcakesdancedishwashingdog treatsdrinkdroughte-bookexercisefallfeatured bloggersfemalefireflavored waterfogfructosegrammagreengreen peppergrilled cheeseguthriehandmadehistoric hotelshomemade mayonnaiseiceincubatorinstant grammajason aldeanjosh and kris blogkitchen window viewlabrador retrieverlaundry detergentlavenderlonghorn rustling storymartinimayonnaisememean roostersmeeting blog friendsmenagerieminimalismmudmusicmy marlboro mannew blog friendsnew cameraoilomeletouthouseowlpaleo creamy italian dressingpaleo dressingpepperspioneer womanplainspooprairiepretty roostersprimal coffee creamerpublished blogquiltrandom listredbubblerodeosaladsandwichesseismic testingself sustainingself-sustainingsmall businesssnickerdoodlespidersquidoostrawberriessugarteam ropingtruckturtlesvegetablevideovintage trailerswatermelon cucumbersweatherweedweekend planswhat I misswheatwindmillwinter wheatwomenhttp://www.uncitylife.com/noreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)Blogger354125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-1174947495852472039Thu, 26 Jun 2014 19:14:00 +00002014-06-26T14:17:42.592-05:00There came a day when I said to myself, whatever happened to that blog of mine? Why did I stop writing several months ago? And so I analyzed the possible reasons why I slowly quit posting to my blog.... did I feel it was redundant to blog when I was posting status updates on Facebook, or sending out tweets to the Twitter-universe? (maybe) Did I run out of things to blog about?  Did I http://www.uncitylife.com/2014/06/our-uncity-life-revisited.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-2161446359552273026Wed, 06 Nov 2013 00:48:00 +00002013-11-05T19:47:02.179-06:00diethealthy dietpaleo dietprimal dietwhole30It's been almost a month since my Whole30 challenge ended.  No grains, no dairy, no legumes, no sugar (of ANY kind) for 30 days. Have I reverted back to my old {bad} eating habits since then? No, not really. Although I've added dairy back into my diet I haven't noticed any severe adverse effects from doing so.  I allow some sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup or agave, but I've http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/11/my-whole30-results.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-4524902734323956375Mon, 30 Sep 2013 22:22:00 +00002013-09-30T19:40:43.258-05:00alpha roostersangry roosterschickensmean roosterspretty roostersroostersOk, now that we've had a few roosters in our flock, I think I'm at least semi- qualified to explain this phenomenon, which gives roosters such a bad reputation. I'm sure many of my readers can relate-- if not recently in their lives, then perhaps earlier in their childhood they can remember some rooster stories to make us all laugh. Of course, at the time, I'm sure it was no laughing matter! http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/09/why-most-roosters-are-mean.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-546947470425242214Tue, 24 Sep 2013 03:38:00 +00002013-11-05T19:06:11.416-06:00creamy italian dressing recipediethealthy diethomemade mayonnaisemayonnaisepaleo creamy italian dressingpaleo dietpaleo dressingprimal dietwhole30I'm halfway through my Whole30.... WOOHOO!! I've done pretty good overall.  My toughest moment came last night when the hubby was drinking a few adult beverages, while I sipped my fruit-infused water.  ARGHHHHH!!!!  I wanted a glass of wine SO.BAD. But I held out, hard as it was.  And I woke up happy this morning, that I didn't kill the last 2 weeks of progress. Today I http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/09/making-homemade-mayonnaise-whole30-with.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-2129495692699585094Thu, 12 Sep 2013 20:05:00 +00002013-09-12T15:13:05.840-05:00caramelized coconut chipschocolate chilidietflavored waterhealthy dietpaleo dietprimal coffee creamerprimal dietwhole30So I know everyone is wondering, have I given up on my Whole30 plan......... The answer is NO. It hasn't been easy, but in fact, I've been helpfully motivated by some lovely naysayers at work.   Mind you, I didn't exactly tell anyone what I was doing. I just made an off-handed comment that I was trying to eat healthier, I had eliminated wheat and sugar from my diet for 30 days, and http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/09/day-four-whole-30-with-oz-girl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-7125167845578592550Mon, 09 Sep 2013 21:41:00 +00002013-09-09T16:49:32.949-05:00buffalo chicken meatballsdiethealthy dietpaleo dietprimal dietwhole30So my first day has been uneventful thus far. I will admit that I let some of my dietary favorites go days ago, so that today didn't feel like a very depriving day. My last glass of milk was Friday evening. The milk was now gone, no need to buy more with my Whole30 looming. I continued to put half-n-half into my coffee right up through Sunday morning. I do so love my creamy coffee. And yet http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/09/day-one-whole30-with-oz-girl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-3575033483959675763Thu, 05 Sep 2013 18:37:00 +00002013-09-09T09:08:54.323-05:00diethealthy dietpaleo dietprimal dietwhole30 I have made the decision to kickstart my new, healthier eating habits by doing the Whole30 plan starting... Monday, September 9th. Since a few others have also expressed interest in this, I think it would be super duper if we could all motivate and encourage each other to stick with the Whole30.... for the whole 30 days, of course. The most important thing for you to know is http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/09/the-whole30-with-oz-girl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-1764972753877761987Sat, 31 Aug 2013 18:10:00 +00002013-09-05T14:05:06.992-05:00blog designblog redesignblog renovationJust a brief post to say, if you are visiting today, Saturday, August 30th, 2013.... and this blog looks to be a mess, and I mean more of a mess than its normal visual clutter, keep calm and come back in a few days to visit again. I hope to have a much cleaner, more visually appealing blog for my readers then! 9/1/13 UPDATE Ok, so I've got a new banner now (woohoo!), a new layout and a new http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/08/blog-renovation-currently-in-progress.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-6083036222732007375Wed, 28 Aug 2013 21:12:00 +00002013-09-01T11:47:53.959-05:00cucumbersgardenhealthy dietMexican Gherkinspeppers Cucumbers, Garden Salsa peppers, and Mexican Gherkins ... oh, and two jalapeno peppers! I've already made some refrigerator dill pickles, and I'll be making some salsa in the next few days.  I've never made my own salsa before, so I'll let you know how it turns out and what recipe I end up using! http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/08/a-wee-bit-o-garden-bounty.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-5160773167130592568Sat, 24 Aug 2013 18:10:00 +00002013-08-31T17:58:33.610-05:00cucumbersMexican Gherkinswatermelon cucumbers Other nicknames: mouse melon, cucamelon, sandita, Mexican sour cucumber, Mexican sour gherkin, Mexican miniature watermelon. ~ in my garden ~ And trust me, these really ARE miniature!  They are about 1" to 2" when ripe, about the size of grapes. Small perhaps, but utterly adorable.  Delicious to eat right off the vine.  The taste is commonly described as cucumber with a http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/08/mexican-gherkins-aka-watermelon-cucumber.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-1508607067342981011Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:52:00 +00002013-09-01T11:47:05.613-05:00anticancercarrot cupcakesfructosehealthy dietpaleo dietprimal dietsugarwheatAnother summer is almost over.  A very rainy summer indeed!  So hard to imagine, when our last 2 summers have been intensely dry and drought-laden. Now the pond is overfilled, and our pastures are bright green.  In August.  Yes, hard to believe! While the rains have been falling and keeping our land lush this summer, I've embarked on a new food journey, a more healthy food http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/08/a-new-healthy-food-journey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-7783453572242902353Wed, 15 May 2013 18:43:00 +00002013-09-05T14:05:48.949-05:00australian shepherddogsMollyJust a quick update on Molly and Lucy, our new mini Australian Shepherd puppies.... Molly discovers the joy of water!  Check out this short video of her digging in the water bowl. We think Molly is going to be a water girl... what do you think?! http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/05/australian-shepherd-puppy-plays-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-5046456973152036170Sat, 20 Apr 2013 18:24:00 +00002013-09-05T14:06:14.598-05:00australian shepherddogsLucyMolly Molly (left), and Lucy (right) Welcome Molly and Lucy, mini australian shepherds, to our Kansas homestead! These two are sisters, born March 2nd, and are red merles.  Molly is the bigger of the two, and I've already nicknamed her Molly the Monster, because she definitely has the upper hand over her sister, Lucy!  Being that they are mini aussies, they will only weigh in the http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/04/meet-molly-lucy-mini-australian.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-768848135777377528Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:27:00 +00002013-09-05T14:07:29.162-05:00buff orpingtonchickenschicksSally A week ago Sunday, this is what we found in Sally's nesting box... two baby chicks! Sally had been sitting on a clutch of eggs since late February.  Needless to say, by the time April 7th rolled around, we were ready to get rid of her eggs.  Chicks only take 21 days to hatch. And then, amazingly, two eggs hatched out these little barred rock chicks! Looking back, I think http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/04/sallyour-buff-orpington-hen-has-chicks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-6705230347729988681Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:32:00 +00002013-02-12T18:43:41.487-06:00I know, hard to believe, huh?  February and we're just getting our first snow?? But it really is our first snow!  The precipitation will be good, we need it SO bad. In honor of this special day, here are a few unretouched, straight out of the camera shots... As the huge flakes of snow began to fall, it was a very unusual snowfall in that it was falling straight down.  There http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/02/first-snow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-4641786601656741651Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:41:00 +00002013-01-29T15:41:47.536-06:00What a surprise, when I heard honking overhead this morning - especially since I had been wondering lately if we might be lucky enough to play host to our pair of Canada geese again this year. Hubby was outside feeding the horses and when he returned to the house, he confirmed that two Canada geese had landed near our pond. Could it be?  Were these OUR Canada geese, the very same pair http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/01/our-canada-geese-return.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-1813998932876227326Wed, 16 Jan 2013 02:15:00 +00002013-01-15T20:16:13.913-06:00 Storm cloud over pondNikon D60 ~ Topaz Simplify effects I haven't been very photographic for the past year or so. It's not that I don't WANT to play with my camera it's just that I never seem to have time anymore. Well, things are going to change this year. I'm going to MAKE the time.  I enjoy it so much, and I sure do miss it. So there's going to be lots more photos on http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/01/prairie-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-1240959602805360769Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:34:00 +00002013-01-08T13:34:42.520-06:00So I've been thinking about what I hope to accomplish in this next year, and decided that a blog post summary might help keep me true to myself... instead of having this jumbled up mess of ideas in my disorganized brain. All that being said, here's my list of ideas, wishes, hopes and dreams.  If I'm feeling generous with myself, I'll revisit this list at the end of the year and see what http://www.uncitylife.com/2013/01/2013-new-year-new-ideas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-450366368738541809Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:09:00 +00002012-12-23T12:54:30.616-06:00 Tori Mae helped pick a winner for my blog ~ 2009 It's so hard for me to post this, but we lost our Tori Mae to stomach cancer almost 2 weeks ago.  Once we found out she had this evil disease (mid-October), our time with her was short. Tori was a strong force in our house.  She kept Trixie Lou and Ringo in check - yes, believe it or not, she was our alpha dog, and even Ringo paid http://www.uncitylife.com/2012/12/tori-mae-life-well-lived.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-8115270218469841433Sun, 21 Oct 2012 14:25:00 +00002012-10-21T09:36:22.201-05:00Tomorrow night, Monday October 22, at 6:00 p.m. Central Time (7:00 p.m. EST), on RFD TV (231 on Dish satellite), my husband Tom will be a competitor on the TV show "Tough Grit".  This show is a collaboration of Grit magazine and Tractor Supply. Here's more info about the "Tough Grit" TV show at Tractor Supply's website. And you can check out the "Tough Grit" crew on Facebook. Give 'em a http://www.uncitylife.com/2012/10/hubster-competes-on-tough-grit-tv-show.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-851157381131328783Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:25:00 +00002012-09-13T19:30:26.086-05:00I can't remember the precise reason why or even when I decided I needed to try my hand at making my own yogurt. I think I may have read something that waxed poetic about the sheer deliciousness of homemade yogurt. Do you know, once I made my own, I believed every word of what I had read. Quite frankly, I had tired of grocery store yogurt many years ago.  I couldn't even stomach grocery http://www.uncitylife.com/2012/09/homemade-yogurt-simply-best.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-5584568935554564080Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:16:00 +00002012-09-04T16:36:03.201-05:00Making your own dog food isn't as difficult or time-consuming as one might think.  And in many cases, it's the best thing for your 4-legged friends! I've made my own dog food in the past.  When my dalmatian became super sensitive to most store bought foods, I began making his dog food.  The only store bought food his system could tolerate was a canned version called Spot's Stew. &http://www.uncitylife.com/2012/09/easy-homemade-dog-food.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-3839319383188099212Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:35:00 +00002012-08-01T14:39:59.604-05:00And I thought the summer of 2011 was bad, when our pond dried up and was nothing more than rock-hard dirt with cracks running through it. Oh ... and a few hundred large weeds. The drought of 2012 is proving to be much worse than anything the summer of 2011 handed to us. And yet, in spite of the shriveled up cornfields and the wilted soybeans that dot our local landscape, there really are some http://www.uncitylife.com/2012/08/summer-2012-aka-drought.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-7558329644887623272Tue, 24 Jul 2012 21:31:00 +00002012-07-24T17:37:06.581-05:00 Silly kitties! The black and white cat is Baybee, a feral kitten I rescued in Ohio many, many years ago.  She's a senior kitty now.   I think y'all know the white cat -- CiCi aka Seesers who I rescued off the side of a Kansas country road about 2 years ago.  She's always finding trouble. Lately Seesers has decided that she much prefers Baybee's cat house to her own. &http://www.uncitylife.com/2012/07/kansas-country-doins.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3735790936343525081.post-4599757926986008536Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:40:00 +00002012-07-09T10:43:09.681-05:00 This post is a brief tribute to a few of the animals we've lost lately. Fluff was not just an all-around fabulous barn cat.... she was our favorite barn cat.  She had the sweetest disposition, and loved following us around as we did chores every day.  As is common with farm animals, we're not sure what happened to her.  She didn't show up in the evening to eat, and when I didn'thttp://www.uncitylife.com/2012/07/sometimes-farm-life-sucks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Girl Tornado)16