Thursday, June 18, 2015

Lest You Think It's All Smiles and Giggles Here at the Coop...

Do not adjust your screens.

Sorry for that little moment of "What I in the right place?"

Today's post will be dedicated to things not going exactly as planned.


Long story short, I have to redesign my blog's look. I didn't mean to do this. A redesign was all hypothetical until I started messing with it and accidentally changed it and then realized that the old template was no longer available.

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, so be patient with the new looks every single time you come back.

Or get happy with this, in case I never actually figure it out.


Buttercup has called us each night that she's been on her mission trip. I was expecting to hear about all the work she's been doing and the fun times she's been having. 

Not so much.

Last night I heard that she got stuck in a hail storm while riding in the back of a pick-up truck.

C'est la life experience that didn't kill her, I guess.


It won't stop raining.

I can't execute our grand landscaping plan if it won't stop raining.

And it won't. Stop. RAINING!

Except for short bursts where the sun comes out and makes everything niiiice and humid.


Did I mention I got a bad haircut a few weeks ago? It had been 11 months since my last (bad) haircut, and I told the person I wanted my hair to be chin-length when it was curly and dry.

It seems I have multiple chins, because my hair, when wet and straight, barely hits the bottom of my ear.

It's hard to mess up curly hair, really. Curls cover all sorts of mistakes. The one thing it can't cover? Short. I can't do anything about short.

Add in the humidity from #3, and I'm lookin' good.

Reeeeealz good.


When we were preparing to go to Europe last summer, Bryan downloaded a French tutorial on his phone. Lately, he's gone back to practicing some phrases. Buttercup found out and talked him into getting the "flirty" version. 

Unfortunately, when he speaks a different language, the accent always comes out sounding German, but with a Latin twist thrown in. 

When he comes into the kitchen and greets me in "French" with a "Salut, Beaute!", he sounds more like a Nazi yelling Et tu, Brute!

So flirty, non?


Pretty sure I mentioned my ability to take power naps these days. Late night with the big kids and early mornings with the little kids leaves Mom with little sleep. I sometimes catch up with a power nap on the couch, with the children running wild around me.

We are needing to review the rules of Mommy's nap time.

Yesterday I was awoken by Cuckoo.

He was holding a dollar and tapping me on the arm.

"Mommy. Can you buy some candy for me the next time you go to the store?"

To review:

1. Do not wake Mommy unless you or someone you know is severely injured or the house is burning down.


OK, so there's only one rule.


Has anyone noticed that I haven't had a single pig post this season?

There's a reason.

We don't have any.

The farmer from whom we get our pigs ran out. The 4-H kids get first dibs, and there wasn't a single one left for us.

He couldn't spare a square.

(Seinfeld, anyone?)

I'm torn about the whole no-pig problem.

While I am thrilled to not have to chase, bury, inject, or feed any pigs, my freezer is getting mighty empty. I'll be a sad, sad camper when I have to buy meat again.

Almost as sad as Bryan is. What use is a sausage stuffer when one has no sausage to stuff?

There you have it. Nothing major, but little things not going quite as planned. Coincidence that there are seven, which is the same number as Kelly's Quick Takes?

I think not.

Any of your plans been derailed lately? Let me hear aaaaalll about it.

Have a lovely day!


  1. Replies
    1. And now I'll add the real comment :)

      1 - What's happened to your blog is exactly the reason why I don't mess with mine.

      A couple of weeks ago I went on a website called where you put in your blog address and someone will check it out in real time while you tune in and watch and listen to their comments - mine was criticised as being not very user-friendly, but it's been running for almost five years so I'm not changing it now in case I don't like what I change it to and can't change it back again.

      4 - That's one reason why I don't have mine cut as often as I should - it seems that no-one can ever get it exactly how I like it.

      5 - That one really made me laugh out loud :)

      7 - May be a silly question, and I'm sure there's a reason why, but couldn't you have got some pigs from somewhere else if your usual farmer didn't have any?

    2. Just realised I missed a word out in 1 - the website is called Peek

    3. frist indeed!

      Ah, but look! I figured it out! I think accidentally messing it up was the best thing. It forced me to do something. Wow, that could be harsh, having someone critique it while you listen in. You can do it!

      A friend of the family will be starting cosmetology school in the fall, and I cannot wait for her to graduate. She will be my new hairdresser for life. Then I can get my hair cut more often, when it is someone who knows my hair and can do it right.

      Me, too. :)

      Funny thing, there aren't all that many pig farmers around here. Especially one that delivers and transports to the butcher for us. Thankfully, I got a message from someone Bryan went to college with who just happens to be a farmer about an hour away from here. They're going to set us up with some pork.

  2. Yes, your template is way different. I'm guessing you didn't save your template to your desktop before you started tweaking. No, you didn't.

    Sounds like Buttercup will be glad to come home.

    Never wake mom unless those two things happen. Bless his heart. No candy for you.

    I've not had a bad haircut in a long time, but I can remember the years and years it took to correct the bad haircut. Okay, it was months but it seemed like years.

    I was wondering about the pigs. I thought you may have done a pass after last years bad experiences. Guess that's not the case.

    I've not had any plans derailed lately and I'm way overdue. I'm sure something will come along soon and mess up something.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

    1. I didn't even know that was possible.

      She is having fun and learning some helpful things (She installed wires for lightswitches!), but I think she's ready to come home. She'll be landing late tonight!

      Never. He ended up just sticking the dollar in my purse and will remind me of it when I next go to the store. :)

      It does seem to take forever. Hopefully, my days of bad cuts are over.

      Gotta say, it is a relief to not have to worry about the pigs all summer, but no, it wasn't a planned break.

      Hopefully it's something small. :)

  3. I'm with you on the won't stop raining thing! IT.WON'T.STOP.RAINING. The ground every is soaked. Today, I got stuck in the mud and had to call AAA. Thankfully, we hve AAA.

    1. Oh NO! yes, glad you have AAA, but what a pain.

      I went to bed listening to rain, and it was raining while I ate my breakfast.


  4. I'm right there with you on bad haircuts this summer. I just had my husband cut the back to "fix" it.

    The only Seinfeld quote that I know is that one - too funny! I do miss the pig stories, but I'm sure you don't miss the work.

    1. Wow, you had to be desperate to have your husband "fix" it.

      Ha! What a coincidence! Now you really must learn some more. :)

      Nope. Don't miss the work one itty, bitty bit.

  5. The whole tech side of blogging leaves me completely befuddled and usually in tears. This rain (and this humidity) is driving me crazy, too. Sorry about the haircut.

    1. I figured it out!!It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be! No HTML code was involved, so that helps. :)

      Hopefully you'll get a break from the rain in Utah.


  6. It doesn't matter what accent I try and do or how flirty I try to make it sound - I still always sound like a drunk Glaswegian - which, apparently, isn't very sexy.

  7. All plans have been derailed due to the allergies. Plans to eat, plans to sleep, plans to do any of the things that I love doing outside, all of them. But at least our rain is no longer nonstop! You have all kinds of sympathy from me on that. Even if my allergies would let me, there are a lot of plans that I can't do because of the interference of the wetness.

    1. Oh, how miserable. I'm sorry that your allergies hit so hard this year.

      We were going to take the kids hiking at an awesome state park, but most of the trails are in creek and river beds, which become impassable with all of the rain. Maybe next time we have a completely open weekend, 'cause those happen all the time around here. :/

  8. A year ago today you were nearly here...

    1. I know! It's so hard to believe that awesome trip was a year ago!

  9. Oh the joys of blog design. Yes to the curly hair and humidity issue. My hair is so long now it just frizzes terribly, as opposed to rioting. My least favorite thing about humidity is getting dressed for the day, putting on makeup and going to the end of the driveway to put mail in the mailbox. By the time I am back at the door, the makeup has slide down my face as if I had eaten an entire pizza.

    1. Joys, indeed. :)

      There's hardly any point in showering, since one foot outside and you are a wet, sweaty mess. Nice visual on your makeup. :)

  10. I was wondering about the pigs. If you need meat in bulk (and can't buy it from a 4-H student), you might try Zaycon ( That's how I end up with 40 (or 80!) pounds of chicken in my freezer. They sell pork, beef, and fish, too.

    I've been toying with the idea of a blog redesign, too.

    I saw a poster on facebook today that said something like, "Tired of yelling to get your child's attention? Just go into the bathroom or try to take a nap on the couch!" Why are some rules so hard to learn? :-)




  12. It's been a while since I've linked TO your blog since it comes via email. I can' comment from my email and then usually don't remember to come back and comment. Anyways.....

    Imagine my surprise!! It took me much longer than it should have to realize I was in the right place. It looks great although I will miss the wood panelling. I feel as if you have moved to the city now. ;) Oh and I need a picture to fully appreciate your haircut. After all...I shared R's. :P

