Whew!

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!

Happy Independence Day!

Stay safe and enjoy the show!

Everything is just GREEN!

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

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!

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...

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

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

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

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!

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?

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!

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!

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!

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...

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 indoor 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...