Wyoming Life

Day 5

2011-03-17T07:13:00.005-06:00

Okay, so I've been actually on the diet for 5 days but only 3 of those actually involve any dieting... So what are the results your are asking? Well, actually I am 3.8lbs lighter since beginning... I eat a lot and I mean alot of veggies for this, and I drink lots of water, as well as teas...

So far I think that I am doing good. According to the spread sheet, I have had some good fat loss and have like 13 more days before I have somewhat met my goal! Now how exciting is that!!

And you know, I want to celebrate with something that looks just like this:

That would be just a nice celebration, but alas I probably won't because then I will have to diet again... But maybe just a small bite or two or six...

So I would say I'm doing good. Now I'm going to have to warn you, after a few days of trial and error I think that I have a system down. Don't eat all of your lunch or dinner at that time. I've been having enough veggies, that I can save out the fruit for a couple of hours later, so essentially I am eating every few hours... I'm just curious to see how this is going to work, since I start my night shift rotation tonight and that is six nights of having my schedule backwards!

I know that is exactly the way I feel!!!

The Diet

2011-03-13T21:54:00.003-06:00

Okay so today is the first day of my diet. I hate to admit it but I'm close to 25lbs overweight!! I mean honestly, how did that happen? Was it the late night Hostess Cupcake attacks or perhaps the too die for birthday cake from Kelly Carson of Rhonda's Cakes? I just really don't honestly know... Or maybe I do know and I'm just not willing to own up to it. But I guess I have since here I am blogging about it.

So I'm going to try this HCG diet that you hear so much about, but never really know anyone who does it. Well, I'm your guinea pig. I'd much rather be "your huckleberry," but I don't think Doc Holliday is going to save me from what lies ahead.

So I placed my order from HCG BodyShaper. They say that they have the real stuff, they even provide a pregnancy test to prove it. So it is sitting in my fridge in the garage all nice and cold, like it is supposed to be.

The first day you are supposed to eat whatever you want while taking these drops three different times during the day for two days. It is day 3 that gets you, when you are supposed to consume a very low calorie diet.

So here is where you get to benefit from my ramblings. For the next 26 days I'm going to tell you about my experience, whether I succeed or fail. After all, why spend money if it's not going to work for you.

Now I have to add in my disclaimer, because I know there is going to be someone out there who reads this and decides to start this diet without medical supervision or worse not read up on what to expect. So PLEASE BEFORE BEGINNING ANY WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN. I am advocating for you to do that first, no matter what your goals are.

So here is to a successful experience, no matter what the results are...

Jeff Foxworthy on Wyoming!!

2008-02-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Wyoming.

If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Big Piney is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Wyoming.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Wyoming.

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might live in Wyoming.

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Wyoming.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Wyoming.

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Wyoming.

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Wyoming.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE WYOMINGITE WHEN:

1. "Vacation" means going east or west on I-80 for the weekend.

2. You measure distance in hours.

3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.

5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching.

6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).

7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.

9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.

12. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.

13. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.

14. Down South to you means Colorado or Utah.

15. A brat is something you eat.

16. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed.

17. You go out to a tail gate party every Friday.

18. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

19. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

20. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."

21. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Wyoming friends

60 Things You Possibly Didn't Know About Me [But Now You Do]

2008-01-28T13:06:00.001-07:00

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
car seat, mag light

2. When was the last time you threw up?
3 months ago, way 2 much back pain

3. What's your favorite word?
uh huh, or would that be 2 words?

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today:
Joe, Jake, Jace

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
homework

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago.
having breakfast with Joe

7. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
no, but it is on my "to do" list

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
okay

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Rocky road

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
decaff tea

12. What are you wearing right now?
Sweats and a t-shirt

13. What was the last thing you ate?
triple berry bread, pineapple

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
no, but it is only Monday…

15. When was the last time you ran?
October, unless you count the many times I have tried not to be late to class

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
NFC Championships

17. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Alaska or Europe

18. Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on myspace?
My sis

19. Ever go camping?
Not in a while

20. Do you have a tan?
It's the middle of winter, if I did I'd stick out like a sore thumb around here

21. Have you ever lost anything down a toilet?
Oakley sunglasses in a porta potty at a rodeo

22. What is your guilty pleasure?
It changes, usually has chocolate in it or on it though

23. Do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot?
Yep, cute little buggers… ;o)

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
Yep, not enough coordination to keep it from dripping down my chin if I don't… :-O

25. What did your last voice message say?
People still use voice mail?

26. Are you someone's best friend?
Hope so, unless they've been lying to me…

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Wake up way too early to go to clinical, take a nap and then go bowling for 2 hrs

28. Where is your mom right now?
Work, probably

29. Look to your left, what do you see?
A wall

30. What color is your watch?
Brown, of course

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Kangaroos and Steve Irwin's family

32. Ever ridden on a roller coaster?
yes

33. What is your birthstone?
topaz, not the blue one either, the gold

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
Depends on the place, can't very well eat DQ while driving… :o)

35. Do you have any friends on myspace that you actually hate?
Nope

36. Do you have a dog?
Yes, but lost custody of her, I got the horse instead

37. Do you want to be with someone right now?
Right now, ummm, maybe after I shower…

38. Does that person want to be with you right now?
I think so, but not sure

39. Any plans today?
School and then kid activities, followed by more homework

40. How many states have you lived in?
3, so far

41. Ever go to college?
I think that this is my 5th or 6th time around… Only got the 1 degree to show for it though…

42. Where are you right now?
home

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Care plans, for any of you that are nursing students, you know what I'm talking about!

44. Last song listened to?
A long trip alone – Dierks Bentley

45. Last movie you saw?
The Bucket List

46. Are you allergic to anything?
Yep, some drugs and milk, ugh!

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Adidas or Crocs

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
Nah, we all got our problems

49. Are you married?
No

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
If they are, they should come talk with me… I'll set them straight…

51. What time is IT?
0844

52. Do any of your friends have children?
Oh yeah…

53. Do you eat healthy?
For the most part, although right now, I just eat…

54. What do you usually do during the day?
School

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
No, hate is an emotion that you are willing to kill for, dislike would be a better word

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
Yeah, in its many different forms

57. How many kids do you want when your older?
Define older? I have as many kids as I can handle, anymore and they'll over run the place…

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
If I say mid-thirties, would that be good enough?

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yep, used to live down the freeway from there

60. How did you get one of your scars?
Landed wrong after a jump and wiped out on my mountain bike

Contemplations...

2008-01-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days where you comtemplate the "what would have been" things in your life? For me those come and go alot more frequently in the last few weeks than ever in my life. There have been so many changes in my life, both good and bad, and yet I still wonder if the right decisions were made at the right times. Yeah, yeah, I know, hindsight is 20/20, but it is the decisions that we make today that effect us tomorrow and sometimes the rest of our life.

Here I am going through a rough spot and the only thing that keeps me getting up every day is my kids and my sense of humor. Without my kids a fetal position sounds really good right now, but for any of you that have kids you know that you wouldn't be able to maintain that position for long because the house would be on fire before you got your butt out of bed to see what the commotion is about. I wish I could change things, but if I could would it be the right decision? Or am I meant to proceed on in life from here because of an unknown factor that will not be realized for an unspecified time period?

If anyone has the answers to these questions, please feel free to share... Or if anyone knows how to get in touch with Mr. Destiny, hey point him in my direction, that would definitely make my life better right now.

The first day... again...

2008-01-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school here in beautiful Wyoming. At least its the first day back for all of the colleges here, my kiddos went back on 1/2... It doesn't seem to matter how many semesters I have under my belt, the first day of class is always one of those that you just cannot miss. In my case, the first few days of nursing classes are all orientation and testing, so it makes it a wee bit more stressful than just picking up needed classes for a degree. Based on my clinical schedule, I learned that I have to drop one fun class and try to pick up another to take its place... So if any of you have opinions on which would be better, public speaking or intro to allied health professions, I would appreciate any of the comments you might have. For me, its 6 of one and half-dozen of another...

Well, hopefully, I'll have a bit more time for fun and games this semester than what I did last semester. So look for more posts from me in the coming months... :o)

My candidate dropped out...

2008-01-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well here I was trying to be on the forefront of politics, checking out the candidates and seeing who was a good match for my beliefs and values and out goes one of the people that had my support. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his candidacy. Wow, was that tough for us registered Dems here in the Equality State. Now mind you, being a democrat in Wyoming is hard enough, so when you find a nice conservative Democrat that *might* be accepted in this political climate you are excited... Now what we have left for candidates will probably not be embraced, but I still have hopes for my Republican back-up candidate. I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed that Fred Thompson doesn't drop out, if that happens I don't know who will move up to #1 candidate for me, but only time will tell.

Time...

2008-01-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

It's hard to fathom how fast time flies in life sometimes. I have been busy working through problems of my own creation and don't seem to notice the passage of weeks or months... Time just passes. It seems that we all walk alone at times in our life and right now that is my path. I have been getting by with the help of a counselor and the love of my kids, but unfortunately the man in my life has been pushed away by none other than me. I have no one to blame but myself for this and I apologize profusely to him because of that.

I hope that none of you ever have to take this journey that I am on, but if you find yourself there, realize that you are not alone.

I love that I am a donut!

2007-11-23T15:34:00.001-07:00

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.
But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft.
You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily.
You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

Sorry it's been awhile...

2007-11-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Can it really be that I have not blogged for six months... What is the world is wrong with me? Well, I've got some really good excuses that's for sure. It has been a long summer, I worked nights, slept days, didn't see much of anyone and then school started. Yeah me and the kiddos are all going to school this year... And let me tell you, nursing school is no picnic either. There is alot more work to it than I thought. Our semester is almost over with, thank goodness, because I could really use the break.

The kids are all doing great... Me, I'm buzzing along slowly. Unfortunately, I will have to admit that I have no stitchy news to report, as I have not picked up my needle and thread in about 6 months as well...

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl		90%
The Flash		85%
Wonder Woman		80%
Superman		70%
Green Lantern		65%
Spider-Man		60%
Hulk		60%
Batman		55%
Robin		50%
Catwoman		50%
Iron Man		35%

Lean, muscular and feminine.
Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

What a great experience!

2007-05-30T14:03:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry that I have not posted much in the last few weeks. It has been super busy around here...

I was lucky enough to be a finalist in the Mrs. Wyoming Pageant. What a wonderful experience that was! It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun. After the pageant was over, my husband and I went out to dinner in our formal wear; the looks that we were getting were priceless!

Alas, I did not win or place, or show for that matter... I was a top 40 contestant... :) The new Mrs. Wyoming is a gracious person who spent considerable time preparing for this pageant. I can definitely say that I learned something from her!

I came away without any feelings of sadness until I began to watch the Miss Universe pageant, then I cried. I cried because the pageant that I was in was over and I no longer had it too look forward to. I think that I might compete again one more time, but it will not be for a few years. There is a lot more to it than I thought and I would like to be prepared better next time around..

Thank you for all of the well wishes, they were greatly appreciated! For any of my gals in the pageant who read this, don't be a stranger...

Always,

Nona

Here's my dress! Almost...

2007-03-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided on THE dress that I will wear when my husband escorts me on stage. It was very tough, there were so many gorgeous dresses to choose from. I had to stay within budget, but that still left a lot to see and choose from! :)

I do have to admit that I really liked a few others better, but this was the unanimous dress chosen by all that viewed my choices. Now this is in Aqua and my dress with be in honeydew, like the melon. I haven't yet received it, but as soon as I do I will try to post a picture of me in it.

I've also chosen my interview suit.

Although the actual color I chose was sage green. Pink is pretty, don't get me wrong, but I would only be able to wear it in Spring. Whereas, sage green is a multiuse color! :) I know, I know, I'm splitting hairs with colors, but in the end I want to be able to wear it more than once a year...

I'm sorry to say that I have not made any appearances recently. It has been quite the busy time and well, I just haven't had time. But I am rectifying this soon, as me and a few of the other finalists will be in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Cody! What fun is that! We'll be riding in a 1919 touring car. It will be my first time in such a vehicle, but I'm sure it will be just fun!

Other than that things are pretty quiet here on the pageant front. I will hopefully be able to share pictures will you more as I get closer to the actual pageant, and of course, the pictures after the pageant, so you will be able to see how good me and Jeff clean up! :)

Community Gathering

2007-01-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had! The local community put together an Officer Appreciation Dinner. There was quite a turn out, with 50 or so pots of chili to be served to all who showed up. We, the finalists for Mrs. Wyoming America, were invited to come out and help with the silent auction, with proceeds benefitting the Police Officers Fund, which purchased badges, flak vests and such. We received a good reception and answered a lot of questions! I even got to sign a few autographs! Fun, fun, fun!! Here's a few pictures of the event.

In order of appearance from left to right are:

Brandi - Mrs. Northern Wyoming, Senator Alan Simpson, retired, Me - Mrs. Park County and Becky - Mrs. Thermopolis

I also got to share a laugh with Senator Simpson, while his wonderful wife took a picture. He is quite a character, having regaled us with tales of his youth. My husband, Jeff, is a huge fan of his, so this was quite cool!

For those that have heard his name before and don't quite remember when. Senator Alan Simpson was part of the Iraq Study Group that made recommendations to President Bush. Now no flaming Senator Simpson, but Bush is fair game. :)

Take care, that's all for now...

What a busy weekend!

2007-01-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe all of the stuff that is going on right now! Since I was selected as a State Finalist in the Mrs. Wyoming America pageant, I have been more involved in things that I had no idea even happened! For one, I went to a Passion Party. For those who take offense to any reference to anything sexual, you should just stop reading now...

For those that have never heard of this, or want more information, a Passion Party is a way of learning about sexual awareness, while promoting a healthy relationship. This was a fundraiser for another State Finalist in the area. Our presenter was very professional and NOTHING embarassed her! It made everything more relaxed. I must say that if you have the opportunity to go to one, you should. And if you have the opportunity to go as a couple, I think that would just be the most fun way of doing this... But then again, maybe not!

For those that I may have offended, I'm sorry. For those that I didn't, well I knew you guys were awesome. And just so you know, my husband was very supportive, this was not done in secrecy. He took care of all of the kids, so I could have a bit of a girls' night out.

I'll let you know about the other events later on. :)

Women's clothing...

2007-01-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

Alright, what is up with all of these different sizes. Here I am in one size that I've been in for a bit and I go to order my opening number dress, what a surprise I am in for. I'll admit it, I'm a size 7, I'm about 20lbs overweight because of some hormonal issues... So I think that I am a 7 in everything, right? WRONG! That beautiful dress up there is being ordered in a size 14, simply because I am not proportional. Now a 14 is not a big size at all, that's not what I'm saying. I'm trying to understand how I buy one size for years and now all of a sudden, I'm a completely different size in this one designer. I think we need to revamp the entire system and do away with 1,3,5,7,9, whatever and go with what the men do. Now for the most part, I would have to say that women rock, but men's sizing is much easier to understand. Do I want to admit I have a 30" waist, not really, but it would make it a heck of a lot easier when I was looking for something that is sized this way...

Ah well... There's my vent for the day. Thanks for hearing me out! On the other side of things, I am not getting much stitching done again, as school has started. This semester shouldn't be as trying as last semester, but nonetheless school work cuts into my stitchy time anyway. I'll post updates on Angel of the Morning and the beginnings of War Paint as soon as I can.

Diary of a Mrs. Wyoming America Contestant

2007-01-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read it right. Here I am in the middle of nowhere and I am a finalist in the Mrs. Wyoming America pageant that will be happening in May of 2007. I know that some of you really liked my stories on becoming a Wyoming Wife, so I figured that this was a great follow-up.

I've recently transformed myself from this:

To this!!!

So far, I have to say that it has been a blast. I've had my title now since October and I have been out in my community, more like my county, volunteering, doing fundraisers, and seeking sponsorships, as this is not the cheapest hobby to have!

Here is a picture of our opening number dress:

I have chosen coral, which is like the color of the dress on the right. Now I just need to lose a few pounds that have decided that they like their current home and I will be looking good! Once I get my interview suit, evening gown, and swimsuit picked out, you'll be the first to know. I'll also keep you updated on how my volunteering is going and see if I can get some pictures of the other girls in the area.

And you all just let me know if you want my address, so you can send donations to help pay for this, because I'm starting to believe that crafting is a lot cheaper! :)

Feel free to ask any questions that you may have. Whomever wins in May goes on to compete in the Mrs. America pageant held in beautiful Arizona, so well wishes are definitely welcome!

A Finish, and an End

2007-01-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

I am very proud to say that I completed my first project of the New Year. I've been working on this off and on for about 4 months. The design is "Olde Irish Blessing" from Erica Michaels. I loved the way it turned out. :)

The picture just does not due it justice. I am now working on L&L's Angel of the Morning, again... There are just so many similar colors, it is very hard to get into stitching. But, I'm going to try putting it on a rotation and see if that gets it done alot faster!

And then, there was the END....

Of course, something needed to give me a good slap of reality. I was uploading all of the pictures that I took at Christmas, of the kids and their bounty, when my memory card freaked out. After rebooting and trying every way that I knew, I have concluded that I have lost those irreplaceable pictures... It just upsets me! I guess the positive thing is that I didn't lose more than that. So, I'll be looking for a new memory card this weekend, so I can continue to take pictures of the kiddos.

I must say that the weather has been quite fickle here lately. This morning we awoke to driving winds and falling snow, so much so that it took Jeff almost 25 minutes to go about 8 miles up the road! >:o0 Now, however, it is sunny and calm... I'm just hoping that we get feet of snow this winter, as opposed to inches. :)

Happy New Year!!

2007-01-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

WOW! It is hard to believe that 2007 is here already. It seems like 2006 just started a few months ago. Time really flies when you are busy! Between school, work, and family, I just do not know where time has gone... I'm looking forward to a slower pace, at least for the beginning of the year.

My New Year's resolutions have already begun and I am happy to report that I am off to a good start. :) Here are some things that I hope to accomplish this year:

Blog more often (I have gotten quite out of the habit, I'm afraid)

Finish my unfinished WIPs (Same resolution every year... )

Take time to fish ( I LOVE fishing!)

Don't work so much... (I don't know if there is much I can do about this one!)

Spend lots of cuddle time with the kids... :)

Take each day as it happens.

Take lots of pictures... (I love to look through my albums.)

Take a vacation! (I don't know if this one will happen or not, but I've got my fingers crossed!)

Keep in touch with friends. (Once again, I've gotten out of the habit...)

I think that all of these are do-able. I've started on a few and hope that at the end of the year, I will be able to say that I accomplished almost all of them.

Happy 2007 everyone!

My First Day of Freedom!

2006-12-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is the day that I no longer have to log into email accounts and online networks to check for new assignments and results of old ones! This is definitely a cause for celebration!!

I know that I have not been around much at all, so hopefully with the end of my semester that will all change. School took up way more of my time than I actually had available, so I am glad to be able to get back to some of the things that I love, like cross stitching, reading and most importantly, spending lots of time with my family! :0)

However, while this day is cause for celebration, it has not been perfect... I can't believe that four days before my husband's company Christmas party, I broke one of my toes on my left foot. Here I had the perfect outfit, with some great heels, and I will be wearing slippers instead... UGH! How is that for luck?

Has it been this long?

2006-09-27T07:28:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that it has been almost a month since my last post. Where has the time gone? I have been so busy with work and school that all of the days seem to just run into each other nowadays.

School is going really well, I think. I had to drop one of my three classes, as that was just too much to juggle with working 60 hours a week. But the two I have left definitely keep me busy as well.

I'm still looking for a job that has less hours than the one I'm working now. I'd really like to have more free time with my family and to get school work done at a reseasonable hour. :)

Other than that, I have finished a few small projects for friends. I sent this daisy needle holder to my Mom for her birthday.

I remember when we were kids, we used to pick her daisies from one of our fields. It is a great memory and I hope that she enjoys this little dedication to my childhood. She used to stitch alot, but not so much lately, maybe it will inspire her to pick up a needle again. :o)

Whew!

2006-08-30T07:56:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy week. School started last week and I have 3 classes, which is not really easy to do since I work 12 hours a day, but I'm getting it. My textbooks have finally all arrived. That in itself was quite the chore to accomplish. I ended up ordering 1 book 3 different times; it finally arrived on the third try. Can you imagine!

Anyways, I've been busy with that and my older 2 kids started school this past Monday. Thank goodness, we were starting to really get on each other at the end. :0) So, woohoo!!!

I'll get a little more in detail next time around, I promise!

How Frustrating!

2006-08-23T07:29:00.000-06:00

Okay, this is just going to be a short rant, but I have to get it out.

I ordered my textbooks through ecampus.com, paid for 2 day air, as classes were starting and I needed the books. Well, I get the confirmation that they were sent and guess what.... They sent them by ground! Instead of arriving yesterday, they are set to arrive tomorrow. Now I know that doesn't seem bad, but my first assignment is due on Friday for two classes and I don't even have the books yet! URG!!! Do not order from these people unless you have lots of time to spare. Oh, and they haven't refunded me the difference. I guess that I should be grateful that I'm even getting my textbooks in the first place.... What!!!

Hope the rest of my day goes better than this! And I hope that your day goes better as well! :)

What a day!

2006-08-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

Wow! Who knew that the first day of classes would be so weird. I am taking 3 online classes this semester through 2 different colleges. The Natural Resource Ecology class was ready to go first thing in the morning. I was able to view assignments and know what I had to do by when. My other two classes didn't come up at all. But, I woke up this morning to one of them being ready. That class has a lot of team projects, hopefully they will turn out better than most of the team projects that I have had in the past; you know one or two people doing all of the work while the rest of the team gets credit... But my second class has still not come up yet... While I'm glad that there is not as much work due by Friday, it is still a bummer to know that I have one day less to complete whatever will be due... Hopefully, this semester will just go by fast and it will all be over with shortly, with me much more informed than before... :)

I have also finished a small little project for my friend, Lisa. It was her birthday last week and I sent her this lovely emory filled pillow to store her needles and keep them sharp. I know that the picture does not do it justice, as it has many beads, but I think that you all can still see it's beauty.

Summer's just about over

2006-08-21T11:17:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that another summer is just about over. I'm starting classes today and my 2 older children start school next Monday. The year is just flying by.

I know that I haven't been around much. I have had a few problems creep up that needed fixed and then I had a few bad experiences with people not following through on their online committments. That whole experience just kind of soured me to wanting to be on the internet. I was punishing myself for not being a better judge of character. But, I'm slowly coming around and I am looking forward to re-establishing my online friendships. So, please forgive my lapse of judgement.

Growing Up

2006-07-13T12:43:00.000-06:00

To me the end of being a baby and the beginning of being a kid is the first haircut. I postpone it as long as I can, always. The fine hair and curls are just wonderful; they make me believe that they can go on staying little forever. Then reality hits you when you actually have to cut the hair because they can no longer see clearly... Well that has finally happened. My littlest one went from being my baby to being a big kid...
I had to sit him down and do away with all of those wonderful curls. His hair was starting to look like he had dreadlocks in the back and it was coming over his eyes. So now my little man can see where he is going.
Doesn't he look older now?! I can hardly believe that they are the same kid. Aww well, he won't stop growing, this was inevitable. Doesn't make it any easier though...

First of the bounty we planted

2006-07-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

We have finally started to get some of our vegetables up in the garden. We've been keeping an eye on them, just waiting and waiting. Well our wait is finally over! :)

Here is the first of our radishes and peas. There weren't too many peas for the first round, but we are now inundated with radishes. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all of them! I am going to try to pickle some of them, though. My husband got crazy planting these, but I don't want them to go to waste. Last time he planted so many, my horses got the excess... And yes, they loved them!

Here is our giant radish! My husband is a big guy and this is definitely a big radish! I hope that everything else comes up just as good. I already know that the carrots won't be in such a hearty abundance, as my loving Jeff sprayed them with weed killer! Yep, couldn't believe that either. :)

Happy Independence Day!

2006-07-04T14:56:00.000-06:00

Happy Independence Day!

Stay safe and enjoy the show!

Everything is just GREEN!

2006-07-03T13:04:00.000-06:00

Our homestead is starting to look like a beautiful place again! It's amazing all of the hard work that goes into making a house a home. I cannot take credit for all of this beautiful work. No credit must be given to my better half, Jeff. He has blinders on when yard work needs to be done, forsaking all other chores so that our lawn will be green and lush. He truly loves working out there and making the whole place beautiful. My littlest son, Joe, takes after his dad in that respect. It doesn't matter what the temperature, he wants to be out there playing or working... Me, I'm not that type. Once the weather gets below30 degree Fahernheit, I don't spend too much time outside. But, I admit that I don't like the hot weather either. The heat seems to bring out all of those bugs that hold a buffett on any exposed skin. I could really do without them!

Farmer Joe is hard at work here, helping Dad to clean up the backyard. He is my only child, out of 3, that will clean anything without being asked. It's really too cute! Just give him a rag and some water and he's out there scrubbing the tables, the slide, the porch, his tractor, anything. His grandparents love it! Especially since his dad doesn't clean anything that isn't truck related, and never has. :) I guess there is a bit of me in there after all!

Bad things come in 3's

2006-06-29T14:39:00.000-06:00

Well, it's true... Bad things do come in 3's. It's been a week so far and it's only Thursday... Yes, I'm still excited that I've been accepted into the MA program. That is still very exciting for me. The rest of the week could use some work though!

First bad thing - We're getting a fence installed in the backyard and well, the guy using the auger to dig all of the holes completely mangles our leach field for our septic system...

Second bad thing - Just received yet another turn down letter from yet another company who says that they enjoyed my resume and such, but I'm just not what they are looking for... Well that was obvious since they didn't call to proceed any further...

Third bad thing - Our mortgage company neglected to pay our property taxes and we received a notice that our property was going into tax foreclosure... So we paid them out of our pocket... And they aren't going to reimburse us for them, seems that that is not their problem...

I know it gets better, I'm just waiting to see when... :)

Hope you all are having a better time than we are!

I'm IN!

2006-06-26T12:48:00.000-06:00

I just found out this morning that I'm IN! Yep, I've been accepted to the Environmental Studies program at University of Illinois to begin work on my Master's degree. I've been looking for a program that would inspire me and at the same time enable me to find a good job in the community that I live in. Being in Wyoming, it is very limited on degrees that you can use; educational opportunities are even more limited as there is only one 4 year college in the state and other than that there are only two year colleges spaced around the state. I've already got all of my classes picked out. It should take me about 3 years to get my degree. While it's only 13 classes that I need, I don't know if I can handle a full load while working fulltime and being with my family. The difference between carrying a full load and going part time is only 1 year, so I think that is well worth the wait, my family is much more important!

I'm so excited! I'll keep you all informed of my progress as time goes by. My first semester is Natural Resource Ecology offered by Washington State University, as well as Environmental Social Sciences and Humanities through U of I. Let's hope that this is a bit easier than it sounds. :)

Another year has past...

2006-06-25T14:49:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true, my littlest angel is now another year older and wiser. Being two years old has brought on an onslaught of responsiblilities and acheivements. Joe now is pretty vocal on his wants and desires and is really starting to get some important words out. On Father's Day, he actually started to say Da-da for the very first time. :) I let my husband know that the little one was sucking up so he could get a Tonka Truck, but that did not succeed in getting him one. Obviously, Jeff, my loving husband, is a bit immune to the cuteness of his offspring. Me, I would have gone out of my way...
For Joe's birthday, we searched long and hard for the perfect gift. We decided that a rough and tumble boy needed to have his own John Deere tractor, so that's exactly what we found, except it is kid size. He has been very busy learning to drive and getting around the lawn. He has even found time to give the Corgi pups a ride around the place

I just have to wonder what the next year will bring. His important words that he has spoken in the last few weeks are: Da-da, tractor, Tater (one of our corgis) and Hhheeeyyy! I know it will only get better!

Sad news

2006-06-02T18:39:00.000-06:00

I guess that some things happen for a reason, even if we do not actually know what that reason is. I have a firm believe in a higher power, I believe in karma, and I do believe that you are eventually rewarded for your good deeds. But, it still makes you wonder why some things happen. Our kitten that we rescued from the back of a pickup has crossed the rainbow bridge. I don't know what happened or why. He was doing so well on formula, and he was showing signs of growth, but when I went to look in on him, he had already passed over. I don't know what I could have done differently, and I know that he was living on a hope and a prayer when I found him, but it still saddens me greatly.

Oh, the heat

2006-06-01T17:44:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that it has been a few weeks since I've posted. We have been working around the house ever since the weather turned nice. It's 81 degrees F right now and it's 6pm. I can't wait for Fall to arrive, bring the cooler weather with it.

My pups are getting bigger, it's hard to believe that they will be going to new homes in the next few weeks.

Here's my Joe, surrounded by the little ones.

Another birthday

2006-05-15T17:44:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true. My oldest child has offically reached the double digit years. It's hard to believe that ten years ago I brought this angel into the world.

It's amazing how time flies. He used to be so dependant on me, and now... Well, only if he wants to be fed or clothed.

One of these days I hope that he will slow down in growing up... But, he is showing more affection now than he did a few years ago. Maybe Mom isn't as bad as he first thought!

But what Mom couldn't love a face like this!

Happy Birthday Jake!

Puppies!

2006-05-08T09:05:00.000-06:00

We have puppies! Yes, Spring is here in the country! Our Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Tater Tot, has given birth to her second litter. Three boys and three girls make up this colorful litter. We have 4 tri-colored and 2 red and whites. They were born on Tuesday, May 2nd. Tater is a great mom, she is actually too good of a mom and allows the little ones to nurse as long as they want to... And if that wasn't awesome enough, did you notice the stranger in the picture?

Yes, we also have an adopted baby kitten! My husband found it in the back of his other truck. It had been abandoned by its mother. So we have been feeding it, and Tater has been caring for it. We don't know what the sex is yet, but it is very healthy. He was about 12 hours old when we found him and his sibling, who didn't make it, that's how we knew it had been abandoned... :(

Happy Spring, finally!

Did someone say Spring?

2006-04-24T12:07:00.000-06:00

With April almost over, I thought Spring might offically be here, but... This was what it looked like standing on my porch this morning.
I know that the bulbs are supposed to be blooming, and I do have most of my trees getting leaves, but Spring in Wyoming is always an experience. The great thing about this, is that it will help to water my lawn and pasture, since our water hasn't arrived yet... For those that don't live in the country, we get our irrigation water from the end of April to the middle of October. So we do not have any way to water our greenery until it arrives, unless we use the house water, which is a bit expensive.

Here is our grass trying to peek through to peek through and let us know that Spring really is here, but Winter just had to make at least one more stop at our house! :)

Easter happened!

2006-04-21T19:12:00.000-06:00

I love Easter, I really do. My kids are never too old to do an Easter Egg hunt. We have an egg hunt for the kids every year. This year was the first year in the house that we live in and we have soo much room! My soon to be 2 year old had such a blast! I could not believe the amount of eggs that he found. He naturally found all of the easy ones, but he also found some of the eggs that were for the big kids, as they were a bit harder to find. It was a really fun day for the kids and us, watching them. My neighbors, who don't have small children or grandchildren actually called us up and wondered if it would be alright if they hid some eggs on our property also, so that they could watch the kids find them! How cool is that?

I'm sorry that I haven't been on here much updating. I have been trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up. It is a very time-consuming process. I know that I posted earlier that I was gravitating towards nursing or industrial engineering, but I have completely veered off that path. I found a degree that I can do entirely online, that way I don't have to quit working or move away for a few years. I have been spending my time applying for grad school at the University of Illinois. I am applying to their Environmental Studies program. I just finished my application essay, which took 4 days to write, scheduled my GRE test and enrolled in the one prerequisite class that I was missing. Hopefully, I will be able to find time to prepare for the GRE and spend a bit more time updating this blog!

I love this weather!

2006-04-08T19:42:00.000-06:00

It has been so beautiful outside lately. I'm so glad that winter is finally on its way out! :) As much as I love the snow that comes in winter, we didn't get very much of it this year. Mostly we had cold with wind... Not much moisture. With spring here, we have had a few good rain storms, which have really greened up everything. We are hopefully planting bulbs this weekend, just to really get the season going for us. :)

I also received the cutest mail art envelope from an exchange on SanMan Originals. Darlene did a wonderful job matching my likes! She also included some size 26 needles and project cards. You can never have enough needles... :) I love flowers and blue is my favorite color. I have posted my envelope out to my partner and as soon as I know that she has received it.

Spring in Wyoming!

2006-04-04T07:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, I think that it has arrived! We have been busy trying to do away with all of the signs of winter, like broken tree limbs, fallen leaves and dead weeds. It is amazing how much work all of that is. Our lawn is still brown, but we are seeing wonderful green grass poking up! :) We were just at the store on Sunday buying bulbs to plant in some of the space that we have, so when it starts to bloom, I will take a picture and show you all how wonderful my home and property look when it is all green and lush!

I have also experienced one of the great joys of spring up here, the annual 50% off sale at my local needlework shop! The Iron Kettle has their anniversary sale the first Saturday in April. I actually did really well and only spent $57. I just had to have a handmade box for trinkets and such that has a black area up top to put stitching in! That was my major splurge, other than that I just purchased the Lizzie Kate christmas ornaments that just came out and some floss to finish a few projects... I should have made a list of all that I *needed* but I wasn't that forward thinking at 5am... :)

Well that's all I've been up to recently. Hockey is finally over! :) So we have been able to just hang around the house and work on it and a few other projects. Right now I am also contemplating going back to school, and I am trying to decide on a career that I would like. So far I've got it narrowed down to nursing or industrial engineering. So if you would like to give me your comments on either, I'd appreciate it!

The Wyoming Project...

2006-03-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

I received a comment from Daniel Hoffman-Gill regarding what life in Big, Wonderful Wyoming is like. So here are his questions and my answers:

Wyoming is very empty - Wyoming is very open and uncrowded. The entire population of the state is less than the wildlife population. We have more antelope, elk, deer, bears, horses, and other wildlife, than we have people. Most of our land is federally protected, used for recreation and mineral extraction. Wyomjng is not empty, it is just not a full or crowded like other states.

Wyoming is very Republican - Yes, this is true. Except in counties that are rich in mineral extraction. We do have a Democratic governor, Dave Freudenthal and you are in a minority if your are a Democratic. I am a very conservative Democrat, so we aren't that hard to find!

Wyoming is very white - Wyoming's majority population is white, yes. We do have represtatives of all nationalities however. Rock Springs proudly claims to be the home of 51 nationalities. It is no surprise, because Wyoming has the cheapest out of state tuition of most of the colleges in the nation. We have a very large population from the East because of this!

Wyoming likes Dick Cheney - He has roots in Wyoming, therefore he is well liked here, regardless of all of the bad. Wyoming is a place where you support your own.

Wyoming doesn't like booze - Very wrong! I read your blog, you're a bit off base on this. Wyoming has a very large population of LDS members and while they are adamantly opposed to the consumption of liquor, it is not the belief of all. Wyomings legal drinking age used to be 19 year old. It was changed in the last 10 years because the Federal Government blackmailed the state by withholding highway funds. If no for that, it would probably still be 19 years old. Oh and by the way, most all of our liquor stores have a drive up window, so you don't have to get out of the vehicle! :)

Wyoming hates Bill Clinton - Yeah, but we hate Hilary worse! She already had her 8 years in office and yet she wants to run again! Me personally, I liked him, but that is not the general concensus of the population...

Wyoming would be a bad place for me, Daniel Hoffman-Gill, to live - Probably. (edited due to mis-understanding) Especially if you like amenities not typically found in smaller towns. This is a great place to live, especially if you are raising a family! We have abundant in door and outdoor activities to include: hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, 4-wheeling, archery, skiing, snowboarding, and motocross. We also have some wonderful museums and opportunities of all sorts. We also have very low amounts of crime and pollution. We also have some of the most beautiful skies because of the lack of pollution!

I live here because I choose to. I like the fact that my neighbor can't see in my backyard and that I can walk outside in my PJ's and not offend any one. I have to drive about 80 miles to get to the nearest big city, and as much as I love the shops and restaurants there, I wouldn't live there if I had to! I grew up in the Los Angeles, California area most of my life, and while I enjoy going back to visit now and again, I would NEVER live there again! I know people who would never leave though, including the majority of my family... Too each his own, right?

So I hope that I have answered your questions to your liking. But we are all not like you "pretending to be someone else, hiding behind a wall of alter - egos." Some of us would just as soon invite a person in for dinner that would like to have a conversation. I have met many individuals who have shown such random acts of kindness since I have lived here, that it can't help but infect a person to do the same...

Great day!

2006-03-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today has been wonderful! I wish I had more like today! All of my kids behaved excellent, except for the one who sprayed me with mixed vegetables... :) Ah, well, can't win them all... I had a wonderful mail day, as well... I've been so good, so I think that I deserved my treat that came in the mail. I ordered some of the new Lizzie Kate ornaments and another Jeannette Douglas sampler. I would love to get a few more of them, as I think that they are just wonderful!

Today is also my husband's birthday! He is getting old! So I made him a special dinner of sausage and chicken gumbo (really delicious and filling), a white cake with triple chocolate frosting (okay, I admit, this is more for me! ) and put some shamrock shaped sugar cookies in his lunch... So help me in wishing my loving spouse a very Happy Birthday!!

Hugs to you all!

What kind of Ice Cream are you?

2006-03-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

You Are Chocolate Ice Cream

Dramatic. Powerful. Flirty.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

I knew I loved chocolate ice cream for a reason!

Round 2

2006-03-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, round two came about last week. I had a house full of sick people, and it was not fun considering most of them were under 2 years old. There is some nasty virus going around and it found our house last week... Needless to say, I didn't spend too much time doing anything productive, just taking care of children, my husband and me... :( I know that this week will be better! It has to be better!

The weather here has decided that winter is definitely going to happen, finally. We have had high's in the teen's, with the windchill and right now it is 10 degrees F. But still no sign of snow or rain or anything else that resembles moisture... As much as I love winter, for the snow, I wish that spring would arrive and give way to these terrible temperatures that we have been having!

So now that the household is feeling better, I will make every effort to keep my blog more up to date. Sorry for that!

Sending you all thoughts of warm weather!

Frustrating day!

2006-03-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

I'm just about at my wit's end. I provide childcare for a living and have just recently thought about getting out of it. Right now I've been stiffed for about $600 last month from two different parents, I've had one decide she is going from full-time to very part-time, and then I get the people who want me to provide care for them for 2 or 3 days a month and not charge them for the time that I can't provide care for others because of their "flexible" schedule... Arghh! So now I am looking for a job and I'm giving up. These parents just don't get that I'm not doing this because I'm independently wealthy, I do actually have to be paid what little I ask for... One parent actually keeps her child home when she can find someone else to watch her for free. No regard to me or my situation... So now, the job search begins. I really enjoy staying home with my son, but when you are losing money doing it, I just don't think that it is worth it any longer. How very frustrating!

Hopefully, I'll be able to keep you all updated with my progress, as well as my projects, but please remember that I am experiencing an awful lot of stress over this right now... :(

It's been busy around here!

2006-03-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

WOW has the time been flying! We are just wrapping up our hockey season for both kids, I have accumulated yet another child to watch, which brings the total up to 8 on non-school days and 5 on school days, and if that's not enough stuff, we have been fixing fencing and doing a bit of home improvement. I love when the warm weather hits! I just can't wait until I can go out in it more than what I do now...

I finally got my envelope sent off to my new nephew, Gavyn... I can't wait to see what kind of reaction that gets :) My postman is so cute, he didn't want to cancel the stamps. He was trying to convince my Jeff that it needed to be put in an envelope to protect it! He had to explain that part of the novelty is receiving it just like it is... I'm also in a mailart exchange from SanMan Originals, so I have been busy working on that! I've chosen an nice Silkweaver Solo, a mix of blues and pinks, to stitch it on.

Here is my latest finish, just in time for St. Patrick's Day. He is too cute, but I went through an entire skein of WDW to stitch his hair... :) The beard was all done with french knots using WDW and Wisper Thread. It was definitely alot easier to do than it looks!

Well, I'm off to stitch for a bit while all of my children are still sleeping! This is a very rare treat! :)

Oh, how I dislike being sick...

2006-02-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

This past week has been better than the last one, that's for sure! I had to go to the emergency room on February 15th, because I thought I was having a heart attack... Needless to say, I'm only in my 30's, so that scared the heeby jeebies out of me... Well, after all is said and done, it turns out that I have a thyroid issue, as in it's not working! They think that it is burning itself out right now, and then I will either become hyper- or hypo-thyroidic... It hoping for the former as a opposed to the latter!! So now I am on medication until I can get in to see the specialist up in Billings, Montana... Nope, we don't have those kinds of doctors down here in the Middle of nowhere, Wyoming! I am just happy that they finally figured out what's wrong with me! It has been a rollercoaster of emotions for the last week and a half! My poor Jeffrey has been through way too much with me since we have been together... I'm hoping that this is it for awhile!! I've been told that this condition can have the nasty side effect of awful mood swings, so if you happen to see some salt in my posts, please FORGIVE me!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Happy Anniversary!

2006-02-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Today is our anniversary!! It's hard to believe how fast the time is going! We were married three years ago, it was a Friday night... I know a strange night to get married, but we were moving to Wyoming the next morning. I had all of my stuff packed up already... Had sold the house and was preparing to start a new life, in a new place, with my new spouse. Here is our wedding picture... We had a really fun wedding. We were married on Friday night at 9pm in the restaurant/bar that we met at. I used to go dancing every weekend, it was a blast! We were surrounded by about 100 acquaintances and 5 really good friends. Alot of people have said that we did it the right way and had a great party to celebrate... But, in another 7 years, we are going to renew our vows for our 10th anniversary. I've already got the spot picked out... Hopefully, it will all come to fruition! :) I'm hoping for a nice castle in Scotland, with my Jeff in a kilt!!! I'm planning it now!

My Wedding: James, the guy above with me, was our best man, as you can see, he was drinking beer... We were married by a friend of my husbands, who happened to be a minister and a bouncer at a gay bar... He was late to work that night because he was marrying us! The guy in the white t-shirt, below, is my brother in law, Brian, who was visiting California for the first time. During the vows the band was playing, Another one bites the dust by Queen, very softly... My soon to be spouse was in jeans, shirt and hat. Me, I was wearing black leather, floral tank top and hat, with a pink maribou hat band... :) The best man was cracking jokes, and our marriage was part of the entertainment for the evening... I'm hoping that James can be there again for us when we do it again, this time a bit more formally. But, I wouldn't have traded this night for anything, it was us.

So, Happy 3rd Anniversary Jeffrey! I love you, always!

What a day!

2006-02-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's post was way too serious for who I am... I'm sorry if I offended anyone, that was not the intent. But today, WOW, what a day...

In the mail I received some wonderful stitchy goodies. This always makes the whole day better! After seeing the new Lizzie Kate ornaments, I "had" to order them, and while I was at it, I also put Northern Shield Sampler from Jeannette Douglas in my cart. I also saw some of those curved beading needles and thought I'd give'm a try. I don't do a ton of beading, but I did have to order some to do a few projects, so the needles became a necessity! LOL! I wish there were more days like this, as opposed to bills...

I also received a letter from a good friend. I haven't spoken to her in years, but I miss the friendship that we shared, so I sent her a letter. There is nothing like hearing from someone who knows you well enough to have lots of dirt on you! LOL :) Anyways, the reason I brought this up is that in this day and age of convienence I have found myself distancing from people. Everything I need can be done on the internet just about, and my Jeff does most of my errands for me... I just don't interact with people the way I used to... So, I made an old friend a part of my introverted life again. The feeling was very refreshing when I received her letter. The moral is don't let your friends fall out of your life because you are too busy, you just have to make time... :)

Charity begins at home

2006-02-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've looked at other sites on the internet that ask you to donate to their cause or support something that they believe in. I have found many wonderful organizations that help so many people, it is wonderful. The hardest thing to teach kids sometimes, is that it is good to give away items, time, money, whatever, to help someone less fortunate! I'm trying to set that example, here in Wyoming, where I live. Sometimes kids just need to see who they are helping... Much like other cities, we have an animal shelter here, but there are very few people who work there for pay, most of the caretaking is done by volunteers. Their budget is also very small. So the local recycling center has set up a program where you can donate your recyclables to Caring for Powell's Animals. What a great way to teach your kids to help others and recycle at the same time! I just had my Jeff take a load of aluminum cans down to the center. What a great way to help such a worthwhile cause.

Another thing that I do is to donate the clothing that my kids have grown out of. Usually I just take it to the Presbyterian Church in the next city, as they run a second hand store. But even then, I wish that others didn't have to pay for the clothing that I gave away. So now I have tried to find individuals in my community that could really use the clothing and that want it. It is amazing how many people will not clothe their child in hand-me-downs, it's either a brand name or nothing! We donated my daughters old winter jacket to the second hand store, and she saw one of her classmates wearing it to school a few days later. I told her that she should not embarass the girl by saying something in front of others, as we all know how cruel kids can be, but I did tell her to let me know the name of the girl's family, so maybe I could give them Jace's clothes once she grows out of them...

Hopefully, the kids are watching me and learning how good giving to others can be... I always believe that karma plays a role in our lives and that to you have to give to get... Whether it be a full live, a good feeling, or maybe the random kindness of an individual, it all comes back to you!

Well, hopping off my soapbox...

Another day

2006-02-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how fast this year is going! I cannot believe it at all. I've been making slow progress on my Angel of the Morning, but her dress is finally just about finished! Yeah! Happy Dance! As much as I love the color blue, I'm really just tired of looking at it... :( I'm going to start working on her cape next. I'm looking forward to using Needlepaints for the first time, they are very lovely and have a wonderful depth to them.

I have also finished my Baby envelope for my new nephew, Gavyn. It turned out pretty good for my first attempt. I know next time that I can't use my sewing machine to do everything. But it is so much easier and faster if I do... LOL... I hope that it is well received by the family. I just have to go and get a gift card before I mail it off. But it is beautiful. I really enjoyed making the envelope, it was a wonderful thing to finish. My husband was making fun of me this weekend, because it took me four hours to address the thing, with both the addressee and return addresses. Hey, good work takes time, and Rome wasn't built in a day!

New baby in our family!!! :)

2006-02-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

This is so exciting! I love babies! Especially if I'm not the one who has to get up with them in the middle of the night! :) My brother and his wife just had their first son a few weeks ago. They are both very excited, as we all are! This is our first new addition since my son was born a few years ago... It's amazing how the time flies! So now I will need to finish stitching my Baby envelope and get it out in the mail. I'm glad that I waited to finish it, because they decided to spell his name differently than how it is usually spelled and I would not have like to have frogged that!

One of my favorites

2006-02-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

As part of an exchange of sorts that I participated in, I received some beautiful colors of Dragon Floss from MichelleTN on SanMan... This floss is quickly becoming one of my favorite flosses, so colorful and beautiful and it is soo soft, very easy to fondle! :) Of course, I would have to say Vikki Clayton Silks are also very wonderful, I just try not to fondle those so much! LOL! It's hard to imagine that I never knew hand-dyed/overdyed floss and fabric existed when I lived in California for 20 years. I used to get all of my kits/materials from Michaels, so I was limited to LA leaflets and Gold Collection kits... It was not until I moved to the middle of nowhere, Wyoming, that I discovered all of the wonderful notions available to me! I guess that when I was forced to shop by internet, I discovered alot of things... :) Now, my wonderful other half, Jeff, doesn't think like I do... So to him I just have a lot of string and material... He used to ask me what I was going to make out of it! He is just too cute... Now he knows better! LOL!

Thank goodness the internet has been here to introduce me to the wonders of cross stitch supplies and notions and that I may have to keep working to pay for them all!

Valentine's Day finish

2006-02-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is a cute little kit from Faithwurks. It is part of their monthly spools kits. This took just a few hours, but I think that the end product is really cute! It makes a neat decoration on my table.

My L&L Angel of the Morning is coming along great, just a few more colors of blue to add and then I can move on to purple... I didn't realize how long this one would take, but I can see progress each time I look at it. I am still hoping to have it done in time for Mother's Day... Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Furbabies

2006-02-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today was without incident. The kids and my husband spent the day building a fence to keep the horses in their pasture and out of our lawn. There is nothing quite as frightening as walking around a corner and seeing two hooves coming at you... Well, needless to say, that happened to me this past week. These are my babies, well two of them, at least. The one on the very right, is my old man, he is 21 years young... Just as feisty as the other two... But the middle one, Amber, is the master of fence destruction! She has managed to end up in the neighbors garden, our lawn, our haystack, the neighbors corral, pretty much anywhere... So we are getting that problem solved on Tuesday, when the electric fence charger arrives! :)

Now if only these three could be as good as my other babies... This is one of my Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Chief is seen with his pups, he was a great Dad, but very territorial, I always had to make sure that he was being a gentleman with them. These are themost loving, well behaved animals that we have... They are truly as much of a part of the family as one of my children. It would be very hard to not have them around.

When I grow up...

2006-02-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

I stay at home with my littlest angel, simply because there is no good, quality, affordable childcare where I live. So, I've been taking this time to get some stitching done and do what needs done around the house. I watch a couple of other kids as well... But, I've been trying to come up with a career that I would like to do once my angel goes to school... Now it won't be for a few years, but I figured that I could take some online classes and get a jump on the whole situation! Pretty forward thinking, huh! Well, last night it came to me... So I informed my husband of my decision...

We were laying around just kind of shooting the breeze and the conversation went something like this...

Me - "I've decided what I want to do when Joe goes to school."

DH - "That's good. What did you decide on?"

Me - "I've decided that I am NOT going to work."

DH - "Why?"

Me - "Because you should support me in the lifestyle in which I want to be
accustomed to!"

DH - "No, seriously, why?"

Me - "Work interferes with valuable cross stitching time! So, I don't want to work!"

DH - laughing uncontrollably - "It sounds like you need an intervention or
something!"

Me - "It's a good thing that I don't know to many people up here, then is it?!"

So what do you think??? LOL!

Tagged...

2006-01-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

4 Jobs you have had in your life?

1. Network Technician
2. Night Billing Clerk
3. Dispatcher/Truck Broker
4. Domestic Goddess

4 Movies you could watch over & over ? ( in no particular order )

1. Breakfast Club
2. Dirty Dancing
3. Beauty and the Beast from Disney
4. Phantom of the Opera

4 Places you have lived ?

1. Washington
2. California
3. Wyoming
4. California... It's a BIG state... :P

4 TV programmes you love to watch! ?

1. Numb3ers
2. CSI: Las Vegas
3. Law & Order
4. Scrubs

4 Places you have been on Holiday ?

1. Ireland
2. California... It's a big state!!
3. Washington - after I left!!
4. Texas

4 Websites you visit daily ?

1. 123stitch
2.Yahoo
3.SanManOriginals
4.Paperback Swap

4 of your Favourite Foods ?

1. CHOCOLATE!!!
2. Steak
3. Baked Potato Soup
4. Dill Pickles

4 Places you would rather be right now ?

1. Edmonton Mall
2. Banff
3. Maine
4. Hawaii

4 Bloggers you are going to tag? ( Hope they don't mind :) )

1. Annette
2. Sally
3. Kristen
4. Helene

Finally, an update!

2006-01-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

It seems like the days all run into each other! How can February be here already? I've been making steady progress on my L&L Angel of the Morning, but the blues are really starting to get to me, isn't there any other color to be found?? But it is looking great, if I do say so myself! I can't wait to move on to my next project, but that won't be for a bit... I don't know if I will do such a big one so soon again.

On a side note, away from stitching, my lovely daughter played her first hockey game and tournament this weekend! It was very exciting for all of us! She played 5 games in 3 days, each lasting about one hour. She got an assist, but the elusive goal eluded her... She has a great time playing and skating. It was a really good experience for her! I'm so proud of both of my kids how they have taken to this sport. I really hope that we can afford for them to play next season. It's $400 a player, plus equipment, plus diesel to the rink... It adds up fast! But here is a picture of my little starlet!

I'll get Stitchy's message tag done in the next few days and get that posted up here soon! I hope that you all are having a great week!

It's been that long...

2006-01-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. I really have no excuse, but I've come up with a few that just might work. :) I have been working on my L&L Angel of the Morning most days and nights, there are about 10 different shades of blue and right now, I'm kind of tired of looking at blue... But, I will be diligent, as I want this project finished!

I've also been reading non-stop, so it seems. I have read the second book in the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson. It was just as good as the first! I've also read Memoirs of a Geisha, another really good book. It was a great love story, not in a Nicholas Sparks kind of way either. Not that he is bad, but his books are tearjerkers and this one was not that at all. I've also read Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle. This was a really good mystery. If you have not read anything by her yet, they are wonderful mysterys set in a coffee shop in New York... Nice reading and very enjoyable!! :)

Other than that I've been doing hockey games on the weekends, which can be very long... The last time we were at the rink for 6 hours or so... Not the easiest thing to do with a toddler, let me tell you! But only a few more weeks and then we get our nights and weekends back, so Yeah!!

Well, hopefully, it won't be so long between posts again! I have to get batteries for my camera and then I will upload a current picture of Angel of the Morning... And anything else I happen to get accomplished :)

Hugs!

WIP's ~ I've made progress!

2006-01-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Works in Progress or WIP's are the one thing that drive me nuts. I try to work on my project until it is finished, but for some reason I get bored/disgusted/etc... And then they get put into THE DRAWER... It's definitely not a good thing, as I don't go into THE DRAWER unless absolutely necessary. That's where my New Year's Resolutions come in...

My first WIP I will shamefully admit is 2 1/2 years in the making... I started it in 2003, thought it would be neat for Thanksgiving. But, I found I don't like working with perforated paper, so it was shoved way back into THE DRAWER... But, now that it is finished, I can say that I like the way it turned out! This was a buttoned and beaded kit from Mill Hill called Turkey in the Straw. I dreaded doing all that beading, but thankfully I found a Tacky BOB at my LNS. If you do beading, this thing is wonderful! I will never be without one again, it's like fly paper for beads! :)

My second WIP is entitled "Jeffrey's Universe." It is so true. For any of you that have had a Jeff in your life, no matter how they spell their name, their personality is pretty much the same. At one point, I had two Jeff's in my life, and let me tell you it was never boring! This picture probably explains it all. While it was a small design, and only took a few hours to complete, I just couldn't get excited about it..

Now I have two down and I have two to go. I don't think that I'll be as quick with those as I was with these, as one is L&L's Angel of the Morning and the other is the Malcolm the Moose monthlys by The Stitchworks. I am doing the monthly moose as an afghan, and I've completed up to March... Only 9 more months to go.

Well, I'm off to stitch some more and punctuated by eating... :)

It's been a while...

2006-01-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Hello all! It has been a week since I last posted... I've got a good excuse, I can actually blame this on my New Year's resolutions! One of my resolutions was to finish my current WIP's before I start any new projects. Well, I have been busy doing that, as well as reading 2 books! Yes, I've read two great books. The first book I finished was 1st to Die by James Patterson. It is a really good book, I have the next two in the series already and I am looking forward to reading them. I also finished "At First Sight" by Nicholas Sparks. It was a good book, with a real tear jerker ending. I wasn't all that impressed with it, but I wanted to get it moving to the next reader. For those of you who read a ton, like me, the link at the bottom of my blog to paperbackswap.com is well worth your time. I've saved so much money in the last year, let me tell you. I've used my savings to buy stash, of course :)

Anyway, I will get a picture of my two latest finishes up in the next day or so... Only 3 more to go, then I am WIP / UFO free!!! But then I am having a hard time deciding what to do next... I'm sure I'll find something.

Have a great night!

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that the New Year has already arrived! It seems like 2005 has left alot of things to do, I only hope I can accomplish them all in 2006... Jeff and I had a night out last night, which was wonderful, as we don't get out alone all that often! We went out for cajun and then spent the night dancing, in the only place in town that offered such a luxury. :) We welcomed in the New Year, with new hopes and dreams for the future. While 2005 was a good year, I'm really hoping that 2006 is better. I've made some new friends, re-discovered my love of cross stitching, started a blog, made a move, and watched all my children get older... 2006 has a lot to beat, Jeff is starting a new job, which is alot better than the old one. So it's off to a good start!

Here's to stronger friendships, more time for stitching and a bigger place to hide the stash that I "have" to have! LOL!

Happy New Year everyone!

All done for now

2005-12-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

Christmas has come and gone, and let me just say I already miss it! I love being able to go out and get gifts for my loved ones and watch them open the gift up... It's really cool... But, alas, it is over for a year... My kids had a blast... My daughter informed me though, that she got too many clothes this year and not enough toys... So next year will be a little bit less for the older kids... My youngest son, however, had a great time opening gifts! He received one of those popper toys that pops as you pull it along... He's tried to take that thing everywhere!! It is really too cute!

I didn't get any stash for Christmas, but I'm not complaining... As you can see from the previous posts, I've been getting my fair share of it, and I'm not done receiving yet... :) I've been stalking my mailbox waiting for my order from Stitching Bits and Bobs... I know it will come soon... That's what I keep repeating at least! LOL!! I'm trying to get my WIP's done before the New Year, but I don't think that I will be successful on all of them... But that gives me a goal to complete next year! Always look to the bright side!

Just about finished...

2005-12-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited, I've just about got my brother's new babys gift done. I chose to do Lynne Nicoletti's Design "Baby." It is such a cute envelope when it is stitched up. I just have to add all of the addresses, but I want to confirm what the baby's name is, so that I can address it properly! I'm just hoping that they use it for keepsakes, but I have this deep down gut feeling that it won't be good enough and it will be thrown away... I know, that's being pessimistic, but they are the type who expects expensive presents... And well, I have 3 kids and my husband is the only one that pulls down a decent paycheck, so... Maybe I'll tell them that the fabric is expensive, so that will make it count... :) I stitched this cute design on Dyeing4U 28ct linen in Blue Slate, as he and his wife are expecting a boy...

Other than that, not much is going on around here. Today is the kid's last day of school until the 3rd of the new year. They are having parties and going to see the Chronicles of Narnia! I'm very jealous. We don't have hockey practice for the next 10 day either, so that will be a nice reprieve!

I received a beautifully written Christmas card from a friend also :) Ever since I've had my last kid, I've had a fit of the girlies and been prone to emotions alot more... And this card set them off... :) LOL... A great card for a friend is an alright reason to make the eyes well up, but geez, I'm starting to get all mushy watching CSI nowadays... It needs to stop!!!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!

Gifts for me...

2005-12-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here it is the week before Christmas... It is so wonderful, I love the anticipation! My kids are doing really well, not peeking at the presents already under the tree, but me, heck I can't wait! LOL... This is also the time when I am getting all of my after Thanksgiving sale items in the mail. It was a wonderful day! I placed an order from Stitches, Bits and Bobs that arrived, carrying some of the necessary floss and charms to complete two of Jeanette Douglas's samplers, A cabin the woods and Northern lights. I'm very excited to do either chart, now if I can only finish my current WIP's...

But, the weather is not cooperating and bringing that Christmas feeling yet. We have had the very cold temperatures, right now it's 19 degrees F, and that's the warmest it has been since Friday last. But, there is no sign of snow in sight... We need snow!! Maybe if I start chanting that, it will happen... We are having the family over for Christmas day, so it will be very busy around here, with lots of food... This is probably the worst time of the year to worry about weight issues... But what can you do?

Is it the weekend, yet?

2005-12-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

This week has been terribly busy! At least all three of the kids are doing better. Everyone has pretty much got over what they were sick with, thank goodness... And now that hockey practice is done for the week, I'll be happy to get on the internet a bit more, as well as get some stitching done!! Right now I'm taking a break from my Angel of the Morning, because my newest nephew is due in a month and I sort of forgot... :( I know, I know... But I am fast at work on his gift!!! I am making Lynne Nicoletti's Baby Envelope for the little guy, I'm using the DMC it calls for, but changed the fabric to Blue Slate linen from Dyeing 4 U. It's a lot darker in the picture... But, it is coming along nicely!! I am really, really hoping that Dyeing 4 U comes back after they work through their troubles, because they dye the most absolutely beautiful fabric!

Here's a picture of my oldest... He's a big 9 year old and loving hockey alot! I just hope that we can afford to do it again next year, it is a way expensive sport... He is doing so well for his first year also, as is my daughter! She is the most girly girl I have ever seen, liking to be in fancy dresses and shoes to go to school, but she loves to play hockey, also! Way too funny, it goes to show that she does take after me just a bit!

Wonderful mail day!!!

2005-12-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today, started off so terribly, with 3 sick children... Oh, it was not a good time for any of us... But then the mail came... What a wonderful pick-me-up... Only one bill, and two parcels of cross stitch goodies. I received my Birthday Club gift, although my special day was last month, it kind of prolongs the fun. :) I received a lot of wonderful patterns, some very beautiful floss, waste canvas, a cool pansy kit from krienik, stitchband and some fabbie, with a cute card...

And then, I received my order from Stitches n' things, from their after Thanksgiving sale. I ordered a few patterns and some RG fuzzy floss, for an exchange that I am in. I really love the Britty Kitty pattern, I am making an afghan out of the Britty Kitties for her, and of course, This House Believes speaks for itself...

What a wonderful mail day it was! Now if I could only have a few more of these, with no bills! LOL!

And it started off so well...

2005-12-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a long few days... My son came home sick a few days ago, and has managed to pass whatever it is along to my other two children... That is definitely not good. We ended up missing 3 hockey tournament games on Saturday because of it, and now my kids will be missing practice for the first part of this week, at least... We started off so well, avoiding all the flu's that are going around, but I guess luck will only hold out for so long... I'm hoping that it goes away pretty fast, since I have all of them home and in bed, but it is exhausting keeping up with them this way...

On a positive note, due to his illness, I got to go Christmas shopping! Billings is about 2 hours from where I live and is the closest major city that has big name stores in it. So I spent all day Saturday going from store to store trying to find the perfect gifts for each. I'm just about done getting everything, I just need to find something for my spouse, as he is the most difficult to find anything for... So, if you have any opinions I'd like to hear them! :) Anyways, now all I have to do is wrap everything and voila, we are ready!! Yeah!!

It's getting better...

2005-12-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally turning a bit warmer here. While the thoughts of a white Christmas run through my head, I would like it to be warmer than -9 degrees F. Yep, that's where the temperature sits right now. My loving husband fixed the frozen pipe fiasco, so now I am all but guarenteed to have running water!! Yeh!!

We also finally got our Christmas tree!! It is a cutey, and I've never seen a Alberta Spruce before, but it will look nice once it's decorated by the kids. We haven't had time to do that quite yet, with hockey and everything else going on... But I promise to post a picture of the little thing as soon as it's all spruced up! Yeah, I know, that was a realllllllly bad pun.. :)

Christmas shopping, however, has not happened yet... The kids just don't realize that you can't take them with you when it's done. They want it to be a surprise, but they don't see why they can't go along... Christmas shopping takes place in the big city, Billings, so it's always a treat to go there! All of the cool shops and restaurants are wonderful, just things that you don't have living in a population of 5000 people.

Sending you all warm thoughts, as I stock up on some more Hot Cocoa...

Way too cold

2005-12-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

You know that it is way too cold outside, when you wake up and your water pipes are frozen solid. And when I say this, I mean that there is no water coming out of your faucets. This is not a good way to start the day off. It is -2 degrees F outside right now, but with the wind chill it is -14 degree F outside. Wow, is that ever cold!!

This is our first winter in this house, as we just moved in this summer, and let me tell you I am not impressed at all! Someone put the outside vent right next to the main water pipe... Arghh!! But whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? At least the heat still works! That way we can have warmth and whatever doesn't require water... Oh, what a day...

Maybe I'll just read and stitch today, just to keep my mind off of the fact that I can't do much else until it warms up some. Oh, the frustration I am feeling...

On the positive note though, the wind isn't blowing as much and it is a new day, filled with new challenges... And it's one more day I get to enjoy with my family and friends.

Sending you all warm thoughts during these cold days... :)

UPDATED: WE HAVE WATER!!! My loving spouse climbed below the house and heated the pipes up!!! It felt good to be able to get a drink of water from the sink, as opposed to melting ice cubes... :)

Becoming a Wyoming Wife - Step 4 Part 2

2005-12-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

It has been exciting so far! This time of the year brings about all new changes from Mother Nature, from cooler weather to snow to hunting season! Yeah, the winter is great, except when it stays below 0 degree for too long. Then, well, it can be a bit too cold. Not the type of weather you want to be out in all day. But, this is also the time when I had my next lesson in becoming a Wyoming wife.

As you recall, I learned to shot a rifle last time. Sounded like a lot of fun right? Well it was, even though I bruised my shoulder... But it gets better. The next time I went out I learned another important lesson... Kick-back...

Yeah, there I was, all excited... I found a herd of antelope about one mile from my house... So, I did what every other female would do... I drove home as fast as I could to get my husband! After all, I can't lift the thing once I do get it, that's man work!! So, we snuck up on them, diesel truck rumbling as quietly as possible... Yeah right!!! I got my orange on, grabbed a few extra cartridges and slung the t7mm magnum over my shoulder. My loving spouse was waiting by the truck for me, as our infant son was sleeping at the time! So I started walking towards them, then past them and then back towards them... Somewhere in my mind, I thought that they would think that I was lost and just ignore me. Yeah, like I would ignore someone in hunter orange with a rifle! So they spotted me... The jig is up, right? Now most of you know that an antelope can run about 50 miles an hour in about 3 seconds. And most of us, can't run that fast even if we wanted to... So, what's a girl to do?? Well, I did what any other hunter would do... I found a deep ditch and climbed in it... Yep, I was going to do a little surprise attack!! So, I stayed in this ditch until I found the perfect place! I found an old fence post that had a notch, perfect for a rifle barrel! So, I rested my gun in there and did a little pop up to check out the situation.. Turns out, the antelope were very curious, as I was there one moment and gone the next, so they started to check out the situation... Very lucky, or so it would seem. So there I was drawing the antelope to me! Perfect!! So, I like up my site on a beautiful doe that would help to feed the masses at home. I aimed right where my spouse said would be perfect, the neck. Well, I didn't know that that's the perfect spot, but not necessarily the spot to aim for... So I squeezed off a shot.... And there they went, fast as fast can be!!

Yep, they were gone! But I tried to sneek up on them again, this time though, there was no where for me to hide... So, I crouched behind a tiny hill. Lined one up again and fired. Well the kick-back on the gun landed me on my butt! Yep, and I didn't learn the first time, so I had to try again. Yep, it had the same effect!! So I get up and go after them again. I don't even get close enough to count them, never mind take a shot at them. So I head back to the truck... My two mile walk gave me time to rehash and think about what I did wrong...

My loving spouse welcomes me back with open arms! He is so proud of me! No, I didn't get my elusive oantelope... He told me what a wonderful sit-down shooting position I had! Well, I couldn't let him continue to believe that silly nonsense any longer! I told him the truth!! Turns out he didn't see the whole thing, just me on my butt! So my proud man does the unthinkable... He begins to scold me about the fact that I could have dropped his gun while trying the crouching position and possibly knocked the sit out of whack... Yeah, it's a good thing that I have an ego built in...

Anyways, we tried a few more times after that, but we couldn't get close enough to get one for the rest of the season... And yeah, this season came and went... I didn't put in for anything as my toddler isn't keen on sitting in a truck for hours on end looking for the elusive antelope... However, as soon as hunting season got over, I just about ran into a herd of them about 4 different times!!! Can you believe that??? Or how about during hunting season, I was actually chased by a herd of 5 buck antelope for about 3 miles... Yep, they were right beside me for the longest time... I couldn't even try to get one, because my tag was for a doe!! That is typically my luck! Oh well, maybe next year! Then I'll have another funny story to tell you!

Becoming a Wyoming Wife - Step 4 Part 1

2005-12-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

What an exciting journey this has been so far! I've learned a lot and had some experiences that, well, to be honest, were less than spectacular! But, like the saying goes, "Whatever doesn't kill you, will make you stronger!" I firmly believe in that phrase, it helped me make it through 7 years of my ex-husband's pancakes! Let me just tell you that definitely made me stronger! LOL! So, I bet you are wondering what could be next? We've already covered fishing, gutting a fish, and christmas tree hunting, what's left? Well, let me just tell you... There are two types of people that live in Wyoming, those that hunt and those that do not. Well, my loving spouse is part of the former group, as opposed to the later. So, therefore, I must continue my education and learn the intricacies of hunting. Now, I am a person that up until 3 years ago hadn't fished much and considered a cow, pig, or chicken, one of the major food groups, besides chocolate, of course! Then I married survival bear, as he loves to be called! LOL! Anyways, survival guy needs to have a wife that is willing to go along with pretty much whatever he comes up with for fun, right? So, I must learn to stalk and hunt the elusive wild game found in the flat lands and mountains of Big, Wonderful Wyoming!

Now, most of you are thinking that a little knowledge of firearms are a good thing, and I am inclined to agree. After all, guns don't kill people, people do! So, what do you think the right way to go about teaching someone about guns, rifles and such?? Okay, here goes... First, you show the person a variety of equipment used for shooting. You go over all of the basics, like handling, fire arm safety, the use of ear muffs, proper handling and such... Then, being a person over the age of 12, at least my driver's license says that I am ... Okay, being a person over the age of 12, you have to take a hunter safety class. It lasts like 4 days and is like 4-5 hours each day. You learn quite a bit of stuff, like all that was mentioned above and more... Like how to distinguish between different types of bears, don't drink the water unless it's boiled or purified, and be careful that you don't do your business on poison oak or ivy... Ehhh... And then the guy tells you that if he doesn't see you with proper hunter orange (yes, this IS a color here in Big, Wonderful!) on, he will call the game warden on you personally! That means no orange hat bands or single sleeves or such... After all this learning you take a test, if you pass you get this cool patch with an Antelope on it and a card to carry in your wallet, just in case your friendly warden wants to check you for proper documents... According to a friend of ours, it's just a bit less than a full body search... LOL! So now you are ready to go, right?

Well, almost... They teach you the book stuff, but someone has to teach you the field stuff! Enter dear loving spouse, who wants to see you succeed... So, when I first moved to Wyoming he took me out once to go learn to shoot his .22 rifle. Now, I know that most of you are thinking that isn't really big, and you're right! My son, who is a lot younger, than me can fire it! But that's not the point!!!! It gives you an idea of what to do without bruising your shoulder first off... Once again, enter dear, loving, survival skilled husband...

Okay, first thing you do is put in for tags. Now, you look to someone with experience to get you an area that isn't too big or too rough for your first time! And baby, I had it!! Right off the road I lived, north of town, in the county... I could put a glass on these little guys from the road, pull over and get into position... No two track roads to make you sick!! or get lost on!! Anyways, here is my experience the first time hunting... Tell me if this sounds normal to you....

I've got my tag for an Antelope, a doe, in fact. But I haven't had much luck finding one in BFE, so here I am antelopeless... But, always looking for an opportunity to give the little wifey some pointers, my loving spouse has me take a rifle when I have to go for alfalfa to feed the horses. Yeah, it's like a 40 mile drive from where I live to where I buy my hay, so lots of opportunity... So I have my truck, hooked up to a twenty foot car hauler, heading down the highway... All of a sudden, he shouts to pull into the next area I can turn into... Has to be an emergency right? Nope! He found a herd of doe antelopes about 200 yards off the highway... So I pull in and drive over some sage brush, and try to get a little closer... But there is NO WAY that you can sneek up on anything when you are driving a diesel truck!!! So now we have to hurry, they've spotted us... Big shocker, right?! So he yells to jump out of the truck, put my orange on, sling my rifle across the hood of my truck, take aim and fire... Easy enough... Yeah, well it would have been a little easier if I had actually tried to fire his Remington 7mm Magnum before, but hey, I should have already known how to do this, right? So, having never fired this rifle, or aimed at a moving target, I was getting nervous, as well as a sore arm... Hey that thing was heavy, I only way 125lbs and am 5'4", the hood of my truck is almost taller than I am... Anyways, I got off track... So with his ever so patient guidance, I squeeze off a shot... According to him, I shaved her chin... According to me, I couldn't feel my shoulder very well and couldn't hear a thing he was saying for a few seconds... Well, I guess what he was saying was to try again... Yup, aim the rifle right in front of her nose and follow her, then squeeze off another shot. Well, needless to say, we came home empty handed, except for the hay... And well, I wasn't much help loading it... Had a sore shoulder...

Guess, I need just a little bit more practice... Wait til part 2... You'll see...

Progress

2005-11-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

WOW! That's all I have to say. I've been busy getting my blog customized and it's been a ton of fun, but also a lot of work. I hope that you all enjoy it! I'll be updating pictures and such as needed... Hopefully, they'll make you want to see the beauty of Wyoming sometime. I've also been busy with the kids, at hockey practice. They are both doing really well, so far! I'm very proud of them and their dedication to learning and participating!

I've also been busy on my project, Angel of the Morning by Lavender & Lace. She is quite an undertaking, but I know she'll be beautiful when she's complete. Here's my progress so far. She won't be decorating my wall, though, she's a gift for someone. :) I know that they'll love her!

Other than that the weather has finally turned to winter, we have the wood stove going and are literally burning through firewood... Only 6 more months til its warm again...

Becoming a Wyoming Wife - Part 3

2005-11-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

So far I have told you about my first experiences living in Big, Wonderful. You have seen me begin my successful career as a Wyoming Wife. It doesn't seem so bad does it? I mean, this is stuff that can save you if you get stranded out in the wilderness, right? So, you have to be asking, how does Christmas tree hunting figure into all of this? Well, let me just tell you, it was definitely an experience! An experience that leads to an $817.50 christmas tree. An no, this isn't for a gigantic one, either.

I know, I know, most people don't hunt for a christmas tree, in fact there isn't one state out there that will tell you that hunting is involved. I mean, how hard is it to find a tree out in the forest, right? Well, there is more to it than that, so prepare yourself, you're about to be shocked!!

Christmas tree hunting is actually a sport here in Wyoming. You go down to the Forest Service, pay some where around $10.00 and get a map and a permit to cut down a tree. How adventurous! Anyways, we have our permit, our map, our kids, an axe and some warm clothing. We also have some sleds to haul this thing back with, just in case we find this monster tree that is unable to be carried! Next we head out of town, having got a good idea where to go by talking with other people. Head south on Hwy 191 and take a right about 15 miles from civilization. Go another 6 miles, hang a left at the entrance to Little Mountain (so known by the BLM sign stating it is so) and then just go up this two track road until you come to the unsuspecting forest! From there take out your equipment and end the life of something that is cleaning up our air... Sounds easy enough, right! Well, here is how it actually happened:

We headed down Hwy 191, turned at all the right roads and made our way up towards Little Mountain. It was about the first good weekend in December. We started up on that two track road and found a little part that was snowed in, so what do you think we did? Yeah, you're right, we locked in the four wheel drive and went around it. Now my loving husband was at the wheel right now, as I had been sicker than a dog the day before (three months pregnant and feeling it!) So he proceeds on down this road. It actually clears up for a little bit, no snow or nothing. But then, out of nowhere, we are driving on this road, turn a corner and drive right in to 12 inches of slush and powder. Not anything where you can get some traction at all. So my survival skilled spouse, hops out of the drivers seat and begins to put chains on, as we can't back down to the dry part of the road. Needless to say, it isn't as fun as it sounds. Rocking back and for and moving farther on up the road, is not my idea of getting a dang tree. But, he's pretty sure it can be done. So he's out there putting chains on while I'm driving, or at least attempting to. :) And it's cold out, really cold out. He's got his warmest stuff on, but the jeans are absorbing that snow quickly. My loving husband begins to guide me up this road that only one car at a time can drive on and make a three point turn to trek back down the road. There will be no tree for us today! Now making a three point turn on a two track road is not all that fun or exciting, in fact it's dang scary. Especially since this is really the first time I've done it... So I'm white knuckling the steering wheel, moving slower than cold molasses, my loving husband is freezing his hair off... It was not a good combination.

So I finally get turned around and he is freezing. So he let's me drive, is this a good idea? My first experience driving on deep snow is on the side of a mountain, I really can't think of a worse place, can you? So I just follow the ruts he made going up. It's like being on an amuzement park ride, until... Yeah, you guessed it, it didn't work out the way it was supposed to. I got caught in a drift coming back down and had a choice. Accelerate and hopefully get out of the drift and not go off the side of the road, down into the ravine or gracefully lay my big ol' truck up on its side in the little ditch on the other side of the road. So, I made the right decision, at least in my mind, I layed my truck up. Now this is not an easy task. Imagine a Dodge 2500 long bed truck with its driver back tire up off the ground about 3 feet. Not anything a person truly wants to experience! Well, we tried to get it out, but it wasn't having any of it. My side of the truck was up in the air, my spouses side was pressed up against the mountain. Now mind you through all of this, I have two kids in the back seat, elementary school aged. My daughter behind my husband and my son behind me. So I start to try and sooth the kids, talking about going tree hunting again, after we free ourselves from the hold of Little Mountain. She looks at me and says "Next time you have to roll on your side of the truck, I don't want to be squished into the door again." Yeah, like I planned this or something!! So then the two kids start arguing on whose side of the truck I'm going to roll next time... Quite comical considering! Luckily, we had cell service, so we called some friends to get us off the mountain. While we were waiting, my kids decided that they had had enough of being in the truck, so they start sledding down the road I just slipped off of. I found the tinsiet bit of humor in that. But at least someone was having a good time...

Then the unthinkable happened... Yup, the kids had to use the bathroom... I instruct my daughter in the ways of the wild and tell her to find a bush and do her thing. My son, however, being the adventurous outdoorsman he is, at 8, just does his thing in the middle of the road... Thank goodness for snowpant!! And the fact he turned away from us!!! I had to explain to him that he also has to find a bush to do his business... He didn't understand why... LOL!

Finally, my husband's boss arrives, with reinforcements, to remove us from our hunting experience. He is absolutely shocked at the condition of the road, since he was just up here the weekend before. We end of leaving my truck there, as it cannot be freed, and head back to town. We live about 40 miles away. Now this is where it gets worse.

By the time we get back to town, it has started to snow. I call the tow company to go and rescue my truck and wait. After an hour, I get a call back that there will be no sight of my truck tonight, as a white out has occured and all tow companies are on call for traffic accidents... Oh could the day get any worse?? No that day couldn't, but the following day could...

I called the tow company again. They are sending in the big guns to get my truck off the mountain. Directions include turning on this county road and then turning again where you see this sign, although there is actually no road name... I confused the guy so bad, he let's me talk to the driver directly and give him directions... Lucky for me this guy knows exactly where he is going!! So I tell him to drop it at my husbands job site so he can look it over for engine damage and such.. It takes the guy 2 1/2 hours to find it and bring it back, no remember we were only 40 miles from it. The snow dropped a load on to it and they had to break some snow drifts just to get to the poor truck! They bring it back and give me a bill for $300! (Ouch!!) Thank goodness there was no engine damage. Just bent the passenger side in a few places and tweeked my running boards... Once again Thank goodness!!! So off to the body shop... $500 deductible... Then off to Wallyworld for my $7.50 christmas tree that was 1 foot tall and living....

Christmas tree hunting permit - $10
Tow off the mountain - $300
Damage deductible - $500
Actually buying a tree - $7.50
Time spent with family alone in the wilderness - Priceless, there are just somethings you can't buy!! And then there are some things you just don't want to!!

We all made it out good, the truck looks great, but that was the first and last time we hunted for the elusive Christmas tree in the land of Wyoming!!

Hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for more Wyoming Wife training...

Becoming a Wyoming Wife - Part 2

2005-11-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, you've read the first step in this whole process. But in order to get to the point where you can definitely say that you've accomplished all of the steps to becoming a Wyoming Wife, you have to go slow... Sometimes, it just seems to slow... And what's the point really? Once you make it through, what do you do? Well, enough of the questions, let's move on to step 2 - Cleaning a fish.

Okay, this has nothing to do with giving the slippery, little guy a shampoo and rinse. It is actually the way that he goes from free fish to dinner on the table.

My loving husband was gone, to California nonetheless, and I had two weeks of the bed to myself and children wanting attention all the time... So what's a girl to do? Most would probably call up Grandma and go to the mall, out to eat and possibly get a massage at a day spa. Me, oh no, I was on the slow track to completing the training set forth by my survival skilled husband. So, me, I take all three of them to the lake, so I can go fishing. Nothing quite says family time like bug spray, sunscreen and cold water, all before the sun rises. I got to the lake about 5:45am, no that's not a typo! Had to be good and ready for some fish! Anyway, I got the kids suited up, put on the goop, and then waded out, tennis shoes on, of course, about 15 feet from shore. Now, I'm not a tall person, so you would just have to know that the pond was not as full as it should be. I actually parked by truck, yup its got four-wheel drive, right on the shore. Anyways, I got side tracked... Sorry!

Okay, so I waded out from shore and began catching my fish! No, I'm not be facetious, I actually began catching fish right away. Used a pretty $0.98 lure I got at Wal-Mart, the small mouth bass couldn't leave the poor thing alone. So, remembering lessons from previous times, I unhooked my fish and put him on the stringer. I pulled out 5 fish in about 3 hours. One being the almost record fish from my last entry. You can actually see what I caught in that last photo. Anyways, there I go again... Okay, so I caught my five fish, 3 small mouth bass and 2 splake, which is a hybrid cross trout fish. So now what do I do? If my loving husband were here, he would probably have done the dirty work for me, but with him working 1100 miles away, I was on my own. My only other choice would be to take them home alive and turn them loose in my stock tanks, but I wasn't too sure how my horses would respond to the torment those fish would exact upon them. So, I bucked up and did what any self-respecting fisherperson would do, I asked for help...

Help came in the form of my 6 year old daughter. Yeah, I know, not the person you thought, but hey, I'm supposed to going through some training here, so why would I ask a man for help??? LOL! Anyways, I get out all the tools, as I had seen loving husband do this before. So I get ready, and I ask my daughter what I'm supposed to do next. Sure enough, she guided me through the whole process lickety split. Had all five cleaned and packaged in about 20 minutes. That time included wrestling with the slippery little suckers!

We got home a little before 10am, as we still had chores to do, and well, I had a newborn and the other two were getting bored quickly. Since then I've gone off and on, and now I outfish my husband, I actually had to give him one of my lures, just so he had a fighting chance :) Since then, my daughter has not let me forget that she had to show me how to do this... All I have to say is I'm mighty proud of her! She'll grow up a lot better with this kind of stuff, than all that s*^t found in the big city!

Well, I've made it through step 2. It's mostly self taught, because according to my spouse, "this is stuff that I should know how to do!" Well, yeah, like that can be just learned, especially if you aren't ever exposed to it! Well, I'll be moving on to step 3 soon enough. Want a hint? It has to do with Christmas tree hunting!

See you soon!

Becoming a Wyoming Wife - Part 1

2005-11-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

When I agreed to quit my great job, sell my house, marry my spouse and move to Wyoming, I had visions of cowboys, horses, deer and antelope roaming, and well, basically living a western lifestyle. Well, once I took off my rose colored glasses I realized that I moved to a declining population state, where "the Equality State" is anything but... But then my spouse told me of Wyoming Wife training. Now it's not an actual class, although there are groups and organizations that offer some help and hope to newly settled and learning the ropes woman. Wyoming wife training is actually alot like survivalist skills, only as a woman, your spouse typically tries to teach you what you should know, as opposed to a non-biased professional who has all the patients of a saint, because you pay him to teach you something. My first step in this process was getting a fishing license and learning to cast a line (or rod, as my husband did trying to show me the correct way!) Anyway, sounds easy enough right? Well sure, you go down to one of many stores, if not all the stores, in your town. Show them an ID, pay your fee, and you are good to go. Then what? Well, now your loving husband is going to show you how to cast and reel in dinner. Now pay close attention, because somewhere in the teachings you agreed to catch, clean, and cook his dinner. This sentiment isn't in an instruction manual, it's just slipped in somewhere between "you're doing great!" and "did you have fun?" Now for those who haven't fished before and are animal lovers, let me just tell you, you have to spear this poor worm onto your hook and, hopefully, catch a big fish on the same hook and then hope that it enjoyed it's last meal...

My first experience wasn't all that great... I refused to put the worm on my own hook! (Call me a whimp, I dare ya!!! ) So once the poor thing was on there I was given a few instructions on how to cast out. Well, needless to say, I caught the bush that was about 15 feet behind me. Not the most glorious moment of my life... Then after I got the line untangled, I tried again... I caught my leg that time! Thank goodness for thick Carhartt duck!! That hook never had a chance, and either did the poor worm... So, not one to give up so easily, I tried a third time... Three is a lucky number isn't it? Well, on my third time I cast out about 4 feet from shore and had about 20 feet of fishing line scattered from hell to breakfast... Was not a pretty sight. So then I began reeling in my line and trying not to make it any worse than what it already was. I gave up then. I could see the disappointment in my loving husbands eyes... Ah well, let him catch my dinner! This is the Equality State right???? Enough for one day, if you ask me... Oh did I mention that the wind was blowing something fierce during my first lesson and that my spouse thought it would help me... Now I ask you, who in their right mind learns something like this while the wind feels like it's going to lift me into the pond???

Oh, about the worm... After the second cast, the poor thing broke in half... The third cast was the mercy killing it deserved before I inflicted any more damage to it... Not that a fish would care what shape its dinner is in...

Ah, well, I've got better since that first fateful day. Now I routinely catch more fish than my husband... And I don't use a worm at all. The last time I went fishing, I caught a small mouth bass that just missed the state record... If I hadn't cleaned it and such, it might have made it. But alas, my spouse was not there to inform me of my mistake, he was working!!! And I didn't feel bad at all, after all you can't eat a state record, but you can have a mighty tasty meal from that fish! And I didn't feel bad about going without my spouse either, his job requires long hours, so I'm left to my own devices at times....

Stay tuned for Step 2 - How I learned to clean a fish... You'll love it!