Breathe...

I know that "they" say God never gives you more than you can handle. 

In that case, thank you. 

Thank you, God, for thinking that I am incredibly organized, strong, capable, and unstoppable. 




Dear Rest of My Day,
Bring it on.

True Love

You know that point in your marriage when you've passed all points of formality and you finally just accept the other spouse for the crazy person that they really are, not just the "dah-ling" that you were dating?  Well, we passed that point in like week two of marriage, but every day I get the chance to experience new little things that make our marriage special. 

Case in point:

Its been raining here alllllllllllllllllll week.  Please don't take this as an outright complaint. I really am quite happy considering the horrible drought we experienced last year.  Rather, think of my malaise as something attributable to my unease with this unfamiliar climatological experience.  Anyhoo, we (Loopie, Laurie and I) have been spending an inordinate amount of time in the shop, making baby steps on various little projects that we have laying around. 

I was so proud of myself this morning for making significant progress on several projects.  "We" simply applied paint to several projects.  I always feel like paint makes you feel like you accomplished something BIG; rather than something big.  I was on top of the moon when Wesley came home for dinner today. 

Me: (bouncing up and down)  Wanna see what I did today in the shop?

Wesley: Um, yeah.

Me: (pointing to a specific pallet shelf that I built and painted a bright barn red, located on the North side of our building)  So, do you like it?!

Wesley:  (looking to the South)  Yeah, I think its great, Honey...

I gave him my most disparaging/disapproving look. 

Wesley:  I'm sorry, you've just hauled so much crap in here to work on, I just don't even pay attention anymore. 

So this is what we've come to... the ultimate level of honesty.  I thought we wouldn't reach this level until at least year 5.  I guess we're on the accelerated program...

Fog and Spiderwebs

Who knew that fog and spiderwebs could provide so much entertainment?  It was another one of those mornings when I had a list of things to get done.... and then I looked out the window.  There was no way I couldn't run across the road and take some pictures.  Heaven help us if there is ever an emergency on one of these mornings. 

"Honey, make your own tourniquet and I'll be back in a half hour." 

"Well, maybe you should have thought of this sunrise BEFORE you poked your eye out.  It'll still be there when I get back I guess..."

"If you limped this far you can limp all the way to your grandma's and she can take you to the hospital."

Of course I don't ever WANT to live out these situations, but you get the idea of my priorities.  (And yes, I'm joking.) 

I wish I could really convey just how still it was this morning, the gentle roll of the fog across the water shed, the delicate dew drops on the spider webs.  It was lovely. 

Enjoy. 
Side note: If you click on the pictures they can appear much larger on your screen so you don't have to squint to see some of the webs.

Fine Literature

Four days ago, Mother Nature decided to get the final remnants of winter out of her system and dumped snow, sleet and a bit of rain on us all in one day.  This of course ensured that multiple cows and heifers would calve in this delightful weather.  Super. 

First thing that morning Wesley brought home a heifer's twin bull calves that were slightly less than perky.  A bit under the weather.  One foot out the door.  Or, for those of you that don't speak in euphemisms, the little buggers were going to die without a bit of intervention. 

I pulled out my special stack of baby-calf-used-bath-towels (I thought everyone had those but turns out I was wrong), dried the calves off, thawed out some colostrum and proceeded to feed them.  Wesley came back into the shed about that time to help and I made mention that the anniversary of Dr. Suess's 100th birthday had just occurred, thus we should name these babies "Thing One" and "Thing Two".  He mumbled something under his breath and left.  (I don't think he was very receptive to the idea.) 

I'm not a big "texter" with my cell phone, but I thought this might be something that my mother-in-law and her second grade class might get a kick out of. 

Me to Janell: A heifer had twins and now they're in my shop.  I suggested we name them Thing One and Thing Two.  Wesley failed to see the humor in the situation.  Apparently not a big Dr. Suess fan...

Janell's reply: He never was one for fine literature.  Where did I go wrong?

Side note: Thing One went back to his mother successfully and Thing Two is my first (and hopefully last) bucket calf of this calving season. 

Fun activity!

Here's a little activity for you and your families, just in case you've got a bad case of the boredom blues...

Stand in a wide open area.  Bring in one of those huge, industrial size box fans and turn it on, pointing towards yourself.  No, bring in 5 box fans and turn them all on at once.  Find a helper (or two, or three) and get them to hold a 5 gallon bucket of sand/dirt/manure and slowly pour that mixture into the gentle gusts created by the multitude of box fans. 

Sound like fun yet?  Wait, it gets better. 

Get your husband to stand in the mixture with you and start shouting tag numbers and both of you try to find blasted cattle and sort them in different directions. 

What, no takers?  Perhaps I should not have been the one elected to write the activity descriptions on our dude ranch brochures.  I think I'm starting to see the problem...

Real Housewives of Greenwood County #314

On this week's episode you will experience a typical Saturday life.

9am: Go to 4-H days and see all the 4-Her's in their finest, performing to their utmost - skits, instrumental solos, informational talks, gavel games, the whole enchilada.

1pm: Start to build fence with the hubs. 

2:45pm: We both forget that he is running a 1,000 lb. post hole digger and that it is running near my head.

2:47pm: Anna has a slight fit of terrets due to lack of thinking skills and depth perception. 

4:00: We finish digging holes and part ways.

6:00-8:00pm: Anna acts like a mother hen, constantly checking heifers and realizing/knowing that once you finally leave a girl alone..... she'll have her baby absolutely unassisted.  Of course.

8:14:  Said Momma and baby are up and sucking and doing wonderfully.  Of course.

9:00:  Anna takes a shower to knock the mud/concrete off her and put another ice pack on her goose-egg.

Just another day in paradise.  And.... contrary to popular belief - I can't imaging trading in this life for anything else.  This is bliss!!!