Life

Surprise… We Bought a New Truck…

After our incident on January 1st (where coincidentally enough I asked if this was a sign of what the year would bring…) and buying the camper that caused the problem… We started discussing options to keep from having to replace a back window a second time. My husband’s truck was a short bed and while most campers wouldn’t have an issue like that… This is a toy hauler… so the front is different.

Our plans really weren’t to get a new truck for another year or so… and when I say new, new to us, not brand new.

Anyway, we have some plans to start hauling the camper coming up in the very near future and I’m just about sick thinking about that back window.

Hubby went online, just so happened to find the needle in a haystack truck that we’ve been looking for. He contacted the dealership, deals were made over the phone, and BAM at 2 am yesterday we loaded up in the truck to make an almost 6-hour drive, which took us through 3 states (ours and 2 others). They made plans to have everything ready to go at around 10 am so that we could be back out on the road and hopefully not get home too late. 

My mother-in-law went with us. She gets off work at 2 am, came to our house to shower, we all loaded up in the truck, and we were off to Greenville, Texas. I seriously think some days we need our heads examined.

We went through Paris

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I’ve Been Painting

I painted another purple cat again…

If you didn’t know this about me, I absolutely LOVE red trucks. Old red trucks, but I drove a new red truck (2014) for 2 years (hubby drove it for about 2 before that or so). I used to hate red vehicles, but gosh, not anymore. Especially after driving one. On that note, I still hate black vehicles and I’ve owned 2 of those (plus hubby’s 3 black trucks). Anyway… moving on.

A few years ago it seemed like we saw the old red truck with a Christmas tree in the bed everywhere. I wasn’t sure what the infatuation was, but then I figured it out. First off, it became a thing because it brings back that nostalgic Christmas. That Christmas everyone wants to have in a snowy cabin, hiking out to pick out the perfect tree.. yada yada yada. (more…)

Mother’s Day – Coronavirus Style

If there is one thing this Coronavirus season has brought… it has brought a lot of people staying in and staying away. But… it has brought a lot of people wanting to get out into the great outdoors. Us included. Even though I’ve spent a lot of time outside.

And for some reason, we thought it would be fun to take up hiking. Yup, you read that correctly. Why not? I have been working my butt off here lately outdoors (which when hubby isn’t working his real job, it’s made him work outside too, plus our little. She’s great). So we thought it would be fun to take a break. And you know, go hiking. Something we’ve never really done… but my little has been wanting to do things like that so now is the perfect time.

Happy Mother’s Day to me :). (more…)

We had to Buy a New Bull

When I was a kid, my dad had red cows. I didn’t know anything more than that, but I knew we had red cows.

My dad’s favorite story was about an Aussie (Australian Shepherd) dog we had. Dad would be telling how good of a cowdog Shaw was and people would scoff. Dad would tell Shaw to go over the hill and bring back the black cow. Shaw would trott off and come back and sit at my dad’s feet. People then would laugh at my dad and his “good” cow dog. Then dad would say, walk over that hill and find a black cow. 

Like I said, we had red cows. Later I learned they were Santa Gertrudis. Then, my dad, had a guy pull in, offer him an amount to buy dad’s cows and he sold them. All of them. Except for my mom’s one dairy cow. Her name was Danielle and she was a Jersey.

Next thing I knew, we were out of the Gert business and we had Long Horns. (more…)

You need to smile

It’s late at night and I’m sitting here thinking about smiling. I’m sooooooo tired of people telling me I don’t smile anymore. I’m also tired of people constantly asking me why I’m mad. Truthfully, I’ve been asked that my whole life, and I’m just really tired of it.

First off, who walks around with a smile on their face all day, every day? The answer, no one. I have these weird frown lines. I don’t know why. Have you watched tv? There are some actors/actresses that have smile lines. I swear, even when they are upset their face looks like they are smiling. The two actresses that stick out to me are Leighton Meister (aka Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl) and Erin Krakow (Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton from When Calls the Heart). I swear, they always have a smile even when they are supposed to be sad. (more…)

Thoughts 6 Days Post Lockdown

I’m not here to debate if opening up was the thing to do or not. Not even going there. I don’t know the answer. I don’t get paid the big bucks to have that answer. Now that we are clear on that…

I can’t remember if it was late last fall or early this spring, the time really doesn’t matter, just know it was more recent than not. The hubs and I got into a huge fight. We’re talking, one of the worst fights since we’ve been together. It was a bad night. Reason for the fight I won’t divulge because truthfully I don’t remember what sparked it. I know some of what was said, but I’m not airing my dirty laundry on the interwebs.

But, the part I do want to share were some of the results. Truly, just 1 result. So, we agreed that we were going to say no a little more and yes a little less. Our relationship and our family were lacking some quality time together. Right after we came to this realization, things seemed to go back to normal. And I was frustrated. (more…)

What Started Out As (Part 1)

What started out as mowing the lawn… quickly ended into a project that wound up looking like this…

Let’s start at the beginning.

So, last summer my I went to mow our lawn. I had been borrowing my parent’s lawnmower… My lawnmower sucked. Dad’s lawnmower had a flat tire, so I started ours up. I got pelted by rocks. I cried. It was a bad ordeal.

Hubby had been wanting to buy a zero turn mower since we bought our original mower (back in May 2011, just before the Joplin Tornado hit). (more…)

Breaking a Calf to Lead

We’ve been having fun around these parts. When you can’t go anywhere or do anything, might as well make the most of it the best way you can. 

When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to show at the fair. While I showed horses so I could compete that way, that’s not really the type of horse showing I wanted to do. Plus, it wasn’t the same as if I showed livestock. I had the privilege later in my FFA years to show sheep. And through friends, I learned how to show hogs, goats, and cattle.

I really wanted to show cattle, but it wasn’t in the cards for my family and me while I was growing up. No big deal. And maybe the little won’t want to show cattle. But right now she’s a PeeWee… So we have our bottle calf and we’re going to try and show in the PeeWee show at the fair.

Part of what is required for that is breaking this stubborn calf to lead on a halter and rope. I put stubborn up against stubborn. We’ll see who wins. Wish us luck!! Oh, and hope that we don’t break any toes in the process!

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Opening Back Up… Slowly… Day 51

I want to add a precursor that I didn’t write this. Gosh, I wish I had because do you know how many times I’ve seen this going around on Facebook? But… there is a lot of truth held in these words. Be Kind. Everyone is fighting their own battle. I won’t sit here and blow smoke up your skirt and say it is right or wrong to open back up. I don’t know the answer. What I do know is you are smart and you can make decisions for yourself. Do what is right for you and your family. Just don’t get upset for someone who is doing what is right for theirs.

What I can tell you is that the governors are basing their recommendations off a lot of information from a lot of highly paid people who should be experts in their field. Sometimes you or I may not agree with it, but you do have to consider that. Now, I think if they are making it based on political standpoints, I believe that is wrong. If you disagree with me, that’s okay. We can agree to disagree. I think this should be about the people, not a political standpoint. That’s my 2 cents worth. 

Now I present you… your dinner… oh wait, no… something to keep in mind.

As governors are trying to figure out how to ease back in to a new normal, please remember:

🛑 Some people don’t agree with the state opening…. that’s okay. Be kind.

🏡 Some people are still planning to stay home…. that’s okay. Be kind.

🦠 Some are still scared of getting the virus and a second wave happening….that’s okay. Be kind.

💰 Some are sighing with relief to go back to work knowing they may not lose their business or their homes….that’s okay. Be kind.

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I’m a Jerk… Coronavirus Day 49

I’m a jerk and here’s a picture of a load of bricks. Scratching your head yet? Well… Here’s the story…

My hubby (and I…) bought a camper just before all this coronavirus stuff hit the roof. The sad fact of the matter was, we had discussed this last fall, but then nothing more was really said. Then come January, I was told by a couple of different people (none family members or him) that I was buying said camper. I got a little annoyed because we really hadn’t decided one way or the other.

Then he bought the camper, hauled it to our house, and parked it. The goal was to remodel it and have it ready to go by last weekend when we were supposed to have our Trails for Kids fundraising horse ride. Well, the ride had to be postponed as we all know. And the camper wasn’t ready anyway. (more…)