A stubborn believer. I won’t change my beliefs for anyone. I will always, and to the end be a believer in Christ Jesus the Lord!!
A loving smartypants wife. I am a lovingly wife. My husband knows. But I can also be a pain. Haha 😂 in a sarcastic way. Sarcasm is our second language.
A daughter. I love my mama!! She is still my best friend. It’s difficult to be so far from her. Not what I had first thought my future would be like. But she is supportive and adamant of our dream on living away. 🥰
A somewhat patient, but warm mama; and an above average homemaker. I try. Being a mama is hard. I’m still trying to figure it out. And it will only continue to get harder; if we keep adding kids. But I still love this job. Even though some days I feel like I have no hair by the end of the day. Also the home maker job….it’s hard to juggle the mama responsibilities with all the other chores. Again I’m not perfect. I probably have the kitchen requirements to 85% but the rest of the house is only at 70%. But not bad. But the husband keeps trying to help me.
An artist. I want to be an artist. I would love to be an anonymous artist. That only you on this blog would know. But that my art could speak for itself. Because also…I’m incredibly busy. Finding time to paint will be hard enough. But I do desperately want to get my art out there!!
I don’t what else is there….I think this sums me up!!
I drove with my mom to go pick up Sammy from the pound. I was still buzzing with excitement.
We had the yard prepared. Her dog house was in the back back yard. Her “pooping area” was hopefully back there as well. It was actually a substantial sized yard for a dog.
But I don’t know what I was expecting, when I finally got her. But as she waddled out of the pound she looked groggy. That was due to the shots and procedure. But the moment she recognized me she was waddling a little faster and licked my hand once beside me.
She remembered me. She was mine!
Instead of putting her in a crate I decided to have her in my lap. I thought crating her would be to traumatic for her. I sat down and then called for her to get in the car too. She was confused to say the least. So instead the backseat it was; which was a bench. Sammy didn’t fight me when I picked her up and placed her on the bench. I sat beside her; she crawled over enough to place her head on my lap. I scratched her ears the whole way home.
“Make sure you vacuum the car out afterwards,” mom said as we drove home.
“Of course, mom.”
Home. We were home. “Sammy, we are home.” Instead of having her walk I picked her up and carried her into the fence of the backyard. I placed her down and walked her around the yard. Letting her smell all the new smells. She wasn’t really interested in anything.
“Mom. I think she just needs a day. Or maybe a couple days to let the drugs wear off in her system. I’ll take her to her dog house, instead. I again scooped her up and carried her into the back back yard. I placed her in front of the dog house. It was a very spiffy dog house. I had gotten her a comfy pillow. It had been a little large but I made her a cocoon. She didn’t move. She just stood there frozen. So like any good owner I crawled into her dog house, circled a few times, and then laid down getting comfy. It was quite comfy. Getting back out was different story. How did my butt fit through the door in the first place. Haha! But I managed to get back out; and Sammy instantly copied what I had done. She laid down and then she was out. ‘Good girl.’
I had given her food around dinner time but she was still asleep. So I left it there and went to bed myself. But when I woke up I rushed outside to check on her. She was no where! She wasn’t in her dog house! Her food had not been touched! Oh no! I thought the worst. I thought she ran away.
“SAMMY!” I called!
And suddenly there were little pitter-pat feet coming towards me. Where had she been? But Sammy walked over to me and licked my fingers as a good morning. And she was smiling! Definitely smiling. It melted me heart.
“Let’s go eat some food, Sammy! Do you want to do that,” I walked back to her dog house. She followed and I showed her the bowl of food. She saw the food, and then it was gone! (I discovered I like the sound of dogs eating food; it was quite relaxing.) But again she was a smiling dog. She knew her spot. And it was to sit in front of me with her back pressed into my legs; waiting for her morning scratch. I gave it to her.
But then suddenly she perked up and she dashed off into the front back yard. ‘What?’ And I followed her. Someone was walking by the fence. And Sammy jumped up on the fence to say hello. She wasn’t barking, but instead she was smiling, waiting for scratches. ‘I picked a social dog.’ The woman walkingwas startled, but then saw me. She waved me over.
“Did you get a new dog?”
I didn’t know this woman. But, “Yes. I got her yesterday.”
She looked at Sammy who was still waiting for some love. “Can I?” Do you know?”
I didn’t know for sure, but I assumed. “I’m guessing she just wants some love, but I’m not completely sure. I assume she would be barking at you if she didn’t want you here, not here smiling at you.”
The woman decided to give Sammy some scratches behind the ear. Sammy leaned into her had and soaked up all the love she was getting. I think Sammy would have stayed in that position if the dog across the street didn’t start barking incessantly at the woman petting Sammy.
Sammy hopped down from the fence and just stood looking at the other dog. Not barking just looking.
“You picked a wonderful dog,” the woman said as she started to walk off.
“Thank you!” I beamed. I knew I had picked the right one. But for a stranger to say it, it just reaffirmed it for me. Sammy was the right one.
.-.-.-.
I learned several things as time went on. Sammy did not want to be in the back back yard. She wanted to be closer to the fence, where people walked. Because anyone who walked by got big smiles from Sammy. She never barked at anyone. I take that back. She did not like skateboarders. Not matter where she was in the yard, she would sprint to the fence and bark until the skateboard was gone. Haha!
But other than that she was perfect. I gave her a bath the second day of having her. She did not like or appreciate the water. It was a battle to bathe her. But as time went on she didn’t fight me as much. I also brushed her. So that she wouldn’t look mangy. She was a beautiful dog. But to me she was a lab, husky, smidge chow mix.
Learned more things. Like you have to put pavers under the dog house. Because when it rains, if it’s on the ground, the water washes in and soaks the dog pillow. Blah! Another. Sammy hated lightning and fireworks. I lived in the back room of the house, so on those types of nights I had Sammy sleeping next to my bed. And she was the perfect dog. She just laid down. She didn’t wander. She didn’t mess with anything. Also she knew how to tell me she needed to go out. I would be dead asleep, and she would come lick my hand. I would wake up staring into Sammy’s eyes and she would walk over to the door, which led outside. She would stand there until I let her out. She would go do her business, come back to the door, and wait for me to say come back in. She would scurry back inside and find her spot again. I didn’t teach her that. Her previous owners must have.
She protected me from bees. I’m allergic to bees and when being outside I would suddenly gasp or scream because a bee was diving for me. (I don’t know what it is but bees chase me.) But Sammy would eat them for me! She was my protector as well.
She was the perfect dog.
Through the years we moved houses and lived in various cities. But Sammy always came. And the new yards became her domains. But she had less and less social time with people walking. The houses we moved into had privacy fences.
But then my nephews came along, we discovered that Sammy loved being a mama. She allowed my nephews to do everything to her. And she never retaliated . They would pull ears, try to ride her, pull her tail, and she would just sit there allowing it.
We also got kittens at one point. My brother’s cats got pregnant and we had 9 kittens. The mom cats died when the kittens were on hard food. But Sammy took the role. She would lay down and snuggle the kittens, she would lick the kittens clean, she would sleep with them. My dog as a perfect mama.
I continued to learn through the years. She was gentle. She was mischievous. She was delightful. She was my best friend. But she wasn’t just my dog. She was my family’s dog. My mom loved Sammy. My sisters who were not big dog people loved her. I ruined my family for having the perfect dog, because she couldn’t be replaced.
But then I got married, and we were going to move away. I wanted to take Sammy. Desperately! But it would have been a huge change for her. Her life would have changed so much that I didn’t want to make her depressed. So left her with my mom.
It broke my heart. But I didn’t want to ruin her. We had, had her already 11 years. She was old. She had slowed down. But she had also become everyone’s dog. So she wouldn’t have been too depressed me leaving.
Thankfully I got to travel down and see her before her final year. She got to meet my daughter. She licked her fingers. Just like she had done to me.
Every trip down I spent time with Sammy. But she was getting older and older. She had lost her hearing. She had trouble walking. But she was still smiling.
Then I got the call. The call that Sammy was in so much pain that she needed help to be done. I FaceTimed with her for a short visit. She smiled at me. But then she was gone.
We had her for 16 years. She was 17 when she passed. She had the best life. She was loved by so many, and she loved everyone back.
I had the perfect dog. I’m so happy I stuck to guns and was stubborn to get her. Because she was the best. ❤️
Young SammyHer last day 💕
She was still a beautiful sweetheart on her last day. I’m just bummed that my kiddos didn’t get to play with her. But I’m lucky to have had her growing up. I was the lucky one.
This is a two part answer. Because I want to vacation at the beach, but live in the mountains.
The beach it’s warm and sunny. Beautiful! There is the hot sand, the blue oceans. It’s paradise. But honestly for me not where I want to put down roots.
I have some reasons. I’m not just stating a fact or anything. But for one, I’m afraid of the ocean. Yes it super pretty to look at; but only my knees will be dipping in. The husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and I was having a panic attack swimming around in the ocean. I totally was a buzz kill for the husband.
Second reason…tsunamis. Not a fan…or hurricanes…nope nope. It’s all sunshine and rainbows until your house is washed away.
Third reason. I burn. No matter how much sunscreen I put on; I burn. Peeling is the pits.
But still, even with all those things; I would love to vacation at a beach again.
But putting down roots; I’m a mountain girl. The trees, the mountains, the Autumn’s breeze, the snow, the cold. All of it is beautiful.
But the extreme weather is not the greatest. The over 100mph winds or the -50°, terrible. But you learn, you adapt. My great fear in the mountains is grizzly bears and rattlesnakes; but there are things to do to handle those problems.
So I guess that’s what it is for me. The extreme weather issues of living in various places. You live up north you freeze. You live farther south you get whacked with baseball sized hail. The east you get humidity and tornadoes. And the west you get sky high population and expensive living with nice weather. Haha! But no matter where you decide to put down roots; you take the good with the bad. You learn to adapt. You live!
I’m going to stay away from holiday meals. Because Christmas and Thanksgiving to me are easy answers.
#1 I think one of my favorite meals is a big juicy steak. With some side of potatoes, corn, salad. But most importantly, we need the horseradish sauce. I like to make the sauce extra spicy. Where when you eat it, it clears your sinuses. But this meal is an easy one for me. I marinate the steak the night before. Then I make the side dishes, and the husband cooks the meat. I can make most things. But he does those dishes,I have trouble with, and they come out amazing. Steak, burgers, chocolate chip cookies, and biscuits.
#2 It’s a recent meal. I made beef enchiladas a couple weeks ago. And they were amazing!! I wish I had taken pictures and used it for a blog post. Maybe next time I will. But I also made the enchilada sauce from scratch too. And I think that made a huge difference. Another part that amazed me was, that my daughter ate it. She didn’t particularly like it, but she ate it. But that my son ate 1 and half enchiladas. I had 3…I’m a grown adult. He is not even 1 1/2 years old and he devoured them. The husband also took the leftovers for work. I was a little annoyed he took them; I wanted to eat them…
🤤
#3 Probably Orange Chicken. What’s funny about this meal is, it’s a staple in my entire family. At my mom’s house they also have this often. I just take it a step farther and I make everything from scratch. Not the sauce. I use the panda orange chicken sauce. It’s just so delicious. And less work for me. I always strive for that. Haha! But this is a meal that has transcended generations.
Like all the posts I could probably list more favorites, but I think I will leave these answers as the only answers. Because they are true.
Well I should get back in the kitchen. The husband worked yesterday so today is our Thanksgiving dinner day.
Have an amazing weekend!!
.-.-.-.
Five colors.
Four painted hands.
Three crisp papers.
Two excited kiddos.
One wet brush.
That’s right! Thanksgiving Hand turkeys. I hope to do it every year. To see how their little hands grow every year! ❤️
This is a difficult question to answer. Because I think it will change based on where you are in life.
But to me I think it’s to still have that innocence. Where you can be an adult, but there is something that makes you giddy and excited; just like it would for a five year old. That it’s the purest enjoyment.
Like for me, when I get a new painting idea. I get all giddy and excited to at least get my idea down.
I think for my husband it’s playing video games. Not as giddy as I would be. But I think it reminds him of his teenage days. He still can get online and play with his buddies.
But I don’t think it’s really behavior like a child. It’s the pure excitement that comes with doing something you love.
So for me when someone is being immature and someone says they are a child at heart I don’t feel the same.
That’s more like you are stuck in the age of a fifteen to sixteen year old, and you are still a pain. Every parent knows the age. It’s the age where you yourself regrets experiencing personally.
So to sum up. For me…
Child at heart = pure innocent excitement.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Inspired by my sons costume yesterday.
.-.
Yellow
And in charge.
Waddle here,
Waddle there.
So cute,
So large.
Definitely in charge.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
He was a duck. It was super adorable. But he was stomping around the harvest festival like he was the boss. It was so cute!!
Now it’s time to decorate for Christmas!! My son loves going to Costco and seeing all the lights. Excited to see his reaction when it will be in and outside our home for almost 3 months.
It’s strengthens everything; arms, legs, back, core. Lungs, flexibility, balance. When you swim it’s an everything body workout.
But in all honesty where we live, our city pool is only open 3 months of the year…they should really enclosed it.
So my year round exercise is… stress, panic, and ”running” chasing after my son…😑 He is not even a year and half and he is getting into everything. Like our bed. We finally got ourselves a nice bed frame. And it’s maybe 3.5 ft tall. He proceeds to climb it…then he stands on the edge of the bed to claim his victory.
So my days are spent in fear and panic of what he is getting into. Like last night he wouldn’t go to sleep so we played in the living room a bit longer. And the moment I wasn’t watching, he had moved the packed up air mattress, stood upon it to grab something off a surface above him, a….battery powered drill. The husband didn’t put it away…and obviously what daddy uses must be the coolest things ever…so naturally my son needs to play with it too.
But I got up from the floor at lightning speed and cleaned up the disaster and future disasters in a record time.
So that’s what I feel like my exercise is currently. Flash style reflexes done at lightning speed. Mix in some fear and panic, and you can loose some weight this way. Believe me I have.
We’ve been also doing various lifestyle changes but I’ve lost 6lbs in 2 weeks. 😳 not a good thing when still feeding a baby, but I think it’s just my son’s doing.
Our harvest festival is coming up. And I saw this shirt yesterday and I approve of this shirt. Haha 😂
So true.
I’m working a booth again this year, so I’ll have my own bowl to steal candy from. But all moms out there…while they are little and not eating candy…this is your right.
The latter is worse. But we’ve been so busy lately. My daughter is only four years old so I technically don’t have to be consistent until next September, but I’ve been trying to do some things before then. But “some” being the key word. It’s only occasionally and not at all consistent.
It’s difficult with my husband’s schedule being so funky. On his days off we do projects; so no school. On his night shifts I let my daughter spend the morning time with her daddy. And then the rest of the day is filled with our normal chores.
So I’m hoping to spend these next 11 months figuring things out.
But for me personally, it’s exercise. I want to get back into exercising, but again I never seem to have the time. And o know, most people say you always have a small window of time. True. But sleep is important.
Wake up. Wake daughter up. Make breakfast. Feed children. Eat my breakfast while cleaning up kitchen. 10-1pm on most days filled with playing with dad or a longer day until 3pm on projects. Also add in the middle my sons long nap time. 4pm let chickens out, and do outdoor chores or projects. Head back inside around 5:30pm. Start dinner. Finish dinner, eat. Watch a short educational show with kids. Start bedtime 7:30pm. In bed 9:30pm. Asleep by 10:30pm. Repeat. My days are the same all the time. So yes, maybe I could fit some exercise in there. And once it’s winter I will have more free time.
But for now my exercise is the projects I do. I’m constantly moving. Maybe even lifting things. So I think I’m good. I need to be able to stay fit for my kiddos. I don’t want to be a lump.
So yes, I’ve been putting these things off, but I’ve been trying to find different solutions that fit in my current schedule.
All of our holidays have something in common. Can you guess it?!
#1
New Year’s Day:
Growing up we would stay up until midnight the. Rush outside with our pots and pans, clanging them! Celebrating the new year.
However now, I can’t seem to stay up that late. Especially my kiddos. Maybe when they get older we will have a late night game night. Or watch a traditional movie. But for right now, I sleep early. Haha 😂
Valentine’s Day:
Before marriage I would buy my mom and siblings flowers. Every year. Even my brothers. Also make my extended family valentines.
Now that I’m married and I live so far away, I prepare my husband’s favorite food. Chicken Parmesan, rolls, salad, and then a wonderfully delicious chocolate lava cake. But I also try to send valentines to my family. My daughter loves to help with those.
Easter:
(If a child is reading this, you may want them to skip this passage. Due to childhood believing.)
Younger years: I believed in the Easter bunny for a long time. I don’t know if I believed there was one or if I liked the fantasy of it all. But church was always first, then a huge egg hunt!
Now as a mama, I try to dye the eggs the Saturday before. Those ones are only for food purposes. Since where we live we have wild animals I don’t want to miss an egg and have a bear or snake visit us. We use plastic eggs outside. We go to church then come home to an egg hunt. That’s the same. The only difference is if snow is still on the ground by Easter; then obviously we have an indoor Easter. But the Easter feasts are the main purpose! I try to replicate my childhood meals to my grownup years.
Birthdays:
We don’t just celebrate our own birthdays. We also celebrate my siblings and mom’s birthdays. So most of the year is filled with cake. January, March, May, June, July, August, October, November, December. Lots of cake!!
Fourth of July:
Childhood years were pretty consistent. City parade. Delicious foods for lunch, which the leftovers would also be dinner. Fireworks in the park; until they were illegal. Staying up and having lots of family fun!
Now as a mama, parade in a city park. It is a huge parade that lasts almost 1hr. Or more. Go home and eat delicious bbq ribs that the husband makes!! I can’t eat ribs anywhere else. My mom can attest to the deliciousness of them. Hanging at the house for most of the afternoon. Then heading back to the park for an 1hr firework show. We also set off fireworks on our property the night before.
October 31st:
My childhood was for the most part church functions. Every church I went to would have a event on October 31st but it was never scary or disturbing. If church is part of your life, I think it’s best to have your kids participate in church activities on October 31st. Because once your kiddos grow up they tend to go trick or treating with friends. And I personally think it help me discern what was not okay. But anyways back to childhood memories. As a family we would all dress up and have a fun evening eating candy.
Grown up now…I still like church functions. Ours is called the harvest festival. I do the face painting. My kiddos go off with their dad and get candy. No fish! But it’s always lots of fun. We only do that; we don’t go additional trick or treating. We just have lots of wonderful family time.
Thanksgiving:
My childhood years we always had delicious foods. My mom was amazing at having a spread of cheeses and fruit before the dinner meal. All is kids would be playing or watching a movie while my mom and older sisters slaved away. But the meats and gravy. And mashed potatoes. Stuffing….my mouth is drooling 🤤
But now as the mama I too keep up the tradition and I cook all the foods. Everything is from scratch. Minus the pumpkin pies. I don’t make them from pumpkins…haha 😂 But I try and have everything timed to be done at the same time. I make enough food for maybe 15 people and it’s just us four. We eat thanksgiving foods for several weeks after thanksgiving.
Christmas:
(If a child is reading this, you may want them to skip this passage. Due to childhood believing.)
Childhood memories. I also believed in Santa for a long time. I think I was 12 or so when I finally decided that I was old enough to stop believing. But I wanted to keep the gifts magical. Also helped when my nephews were born. But we would wake up and open gifts. We wouldn’t rush through them. We would each take turns and watch as each other got their gifts. We would devour candy all throughout the morning into lunchtime. And we would wait for the delicious dinner that was being prepared. Slowly dinner was changed to delicious Chinese food in downtown. Less dishes.
Now as the mama I love to watch my kiddos open their presents. I like getting presents from people but I love giving presents more. The sparkle in my daughter’s eye as she sees all the gifts from Santa makes me so happy. I want that imagination to keep stirring. We don’t eat lots of candy. My daughter turns crazy with any amount of sugar. But I do devour a bag of Hershey kisses all by myself. I eat about 7 to a mouthful. 😊 Then we eat a small lunch. Then dinner. I have kept the tradition of Chinese food alive. But I make it all from scratch. Christmas dinner is the hardest for me. My husband knows to leave me alone while making the meal. I run around like a chicken with no head. But it is always delicious.
Well there you go. Can you guess what is the common ground? Food! Delicious food! Probably why I can’t seem to lose weight. I’m always eating food through the year.
Well I hope this answers the prompt. Have a delicious Wednesday. We are getting firewood again. It’s going to be another long tough day.
We left the house around noon today in search of standing dead trees…for yes, firewood.
I will suggest, if you are on a hunt for firewood leave first thing. Because if you have an almost 1 1/2 year old, the little guys don’t last long. But the husband had to finish fixing the brakes on the trailer. (The reason for leaving so late.)
But here I sit in the truck, after 6 hours of getting some firewood. Not a lot, but at least we got some.
The husband and I have it down! He cuts down the tree, then he carries the log a short distance away, then I pick them up and take them the rest of the way to the truck. The logs are roughly 6ft long and maybe 6” in diameter. So a decent log; and I can move them. 😎 I feel so awesome when I help the husband.
But yes, our evening was attempting to fill a trailer with wood. Our 21ft trailer looks giant now with the maybe 6 trees worth of firewood. But it’s something.
We are having Subway for the drive home. Our go to…”oh, we won’t be home until after 7pm!!” dinner decision.
But maybe once in bed the husband and I will watch a movie together. If I’m still awake.
Not a normal evening for the normal person. But luckily, I’m not normal. 😊
Have a wonderful Wednesday evening.
Photography By: emily2jane “The Tree” 9-13-23
The picture is of a tree we really wanted to get, but it was too big. And the brush around it was about 7ft deep. But oh…it was a glorious looking tree. A tree that many people have probably driven by saying, “I want that tree!!”
This is a great question. And my answer is actually quite funny.
Turns out my first name was just because my mom loved the name. All my other siblings were given family names. But I was named my name because of pure love. Which makes me happy, and I am okay with that reason.
Especially since I have a name for hopefully another little girl, and the first name is not a family name. It’s just a name that I love.
My middle name is a family name. And this is the funny part.
My entire childhood I thought my middle name came from my grandma on dad’s side. She was an awful human being. I only met her once; once was enough.
Through my entire childhood I thought about what to legally change my name to when I was old enough. That was how much I was disturbed.
Obviously I kept the name. Only to find out, from my mom, that I’m actually named after a grandma on my mom’s side who was a lovely person. Haha 😂 Mind you I found this out when I was maybe 17-19. I can’t remember exactly. But for a long time I wonder how my mom could name me with love and hatred.
Safe to say I was mistaken, and now I love my name. And maybe when I become a grandma, maybe my name will be the start of a family name. 🥰
emily2jane 