



Here is the answer that she got.







November 17th Update






Hope everyone has a great day!

November 17th Update











Year End 2016






Stay tuned for updates throughout the winter.

Year End 2016

Messy Rooms

At what point did my children begin to run my house? This is a question that I ask myself of a regular basis and, with lots of thought, have yet to come up with an answer. They are on their way to becoming the crazy cat lady hoarder and the junk yard owner.

Example one: My son has been working on cleaning his room for over a month.

Who lets this happen? It started out that we, meaning my husband and I, helped him clean up and organize everything. Within two days the room was destroyed. I know that the amount of mess is a bit overwhelming but it’s his mess! So we told him we wouldn’t be helping with it this time. After week two of no results, and him taking lots of naps instead of cleaning, I went in with a couple of bins and took some of the mess out thinking that this would help to ease the stress. Still nothing. Then week three I told him that the bins would be getting tossed if the room wasn’t cleaned. Nope, didn’t work. Week four threw away the toys from both bins. Very few tears were shed and he just shrugged his shoulders and helped me carry them outside to the trash. WTF! Okay the original plan was to just put the bins in the garage until the room was cleaned, but after that they went into the trash. Still no change in the mess of his room. Now I’m pissed and go into the room and start to holler. This gets me the response, “You’re being so mean. You make my heart feel like it’s raining.” Great, worst mother award goes to the mother of the boy with the raining heart. I wasn’t sure whether to give him a hug and cry with him or throw him and his stuff out the window. I opted to do neither, walked away, and went to pour myself a drink. This is when I realized that it’s only 11am. At this point, week five or maybe six, I will go in with another trash bag and haul out the rest. Pretty sure that he will still be able to make a mess with nothing in his room.

Example two: I have no hangers in my closet.

I went to hang up my shirts and found a lack of hangers. Since I had just gone through my tops and got rid of anything that didn’t fit or I wasn’t wearing anymore there should have been a few extras. I walked over to my daughters room and asked if she had taken any. “Nope I didn’t mom.” Hmmm, interesting. They are not in my room, your open closet shows that you have taken to hanging everything but your underwear, and you didn’t take them. “No.” I’m going to call bullshit hand over a few hangers. Considering that there are two dressers in her room it’s not really necessary to have that many hangers or maybe a dresser needs to leave the room. When this is suggested I’m told that all the drawers are full. Of what!

I’m raising a couple of hoarders. I am inconsistent with discipline. I don’t follow through on my threats. I have a hard time saying no. I’m going to turn into an alcoholic, snap and throw everything out of the house, or maybe just run away. Can I do all three?

When did this happen? I’m pretty sure that I did not buy ninety percent of the stuff in those rooms and I’ve never caught my children shoplifting so can I blame it all on grandparents and aunts? Probably not. I will take any suggestions for getting kids to get rid of things that they do not need, want, are too old for. My son at this moment is using the dust pan as a shovel to aid in the toy pick up process. It is also after 7pm and I’m going to make a drink and think on this problem some more before my wicked step mother personality starts to show again.

Messy Rooms

Summer’s Sunset

Crickets chirp and cows bellow in the distance. The evening is still, as the sun slowly slides towards the hills, just a faint cool breeze barely a whisper against my cheek. Yellow and gold spot the trees signaling fall although the temperature during the day is still summer warm and the grass is still green from consistent rains.

Tall corn stalks sway, tassels dropping small golden grains on the long green leaves below.  The setting sun shining gold, illuminating the sentinels of the garden and casting long shadows on the plants that they tower over. Pumpkin and squash vines wind through the tall stalks, orange and cream colored globes peeking through the broad leaves.

Tomato plants heavy with slowly changing fruit form a hedge on the opposite side, an array of oranges, reds, and greens. Bush beans create a long row of low plants their slender pods blending in with the stems and almost invisible now in the shadows.

Cucumbers vine lazily over a dull metal panel, yellow flowers closed for the night and lacking the buzzing bees of full daylight. A soft cushion of weeds line the aisles between the plants, growing faster than they can be plucked from the ground.

Once majestic sunflowers hang their heads with the weight of their seed, no longer bright with color. Onion tops lay brown at their feet, soil swelled around the pungent bulbs as they dry white, gold, and maroon.

The sun sinks lower and the sky is washed with pinks and laced with light purple clouds, the colors fading to the dull blue of night as I turn away from the garden. The cool air feels light despite the moisture it contains that is starting to collect on the grass at my feet. A slight wind carries the sweet scent of alfalfa and the heavier muskiness of the slowly decaying foliage.

Before closing the door on the darkening night I inhale deeply the dying summer days turning before my eyes to fall.

Summer’s Sunset










Keep Learning








  • Work and money have a correlation.
  • Value your education and never stop learning, question everything.
  • It’s okay to fail. Keep learning.




Keep Learning


I want to be looked at as a lifelong hypocrite. Not because of beliefs that I currently hold that I’m falsely representing, but because of beliefs that are always changing with new information. I want my life to go from stubbornness to learning to bending to solidifying. My core beliefs I will own and will always have but those just below them are molten and always changing and sometimes hardening into core beliefs.

Let’s use a silly example. “I’m not an animal person” This was a very stubborn statement that I stuck to with religious vigor. It in fact was more telling of my ignorance of animals. We did not have many pets growing up and because of my allergies I kept my distance and did not form bonds or learn any information about them. Leading to my all-time most ignorant statement. “Cats don’t drink water.” (Pause for laughter) Okay now that you are done laughing, follow my logic on this one. I did not nor did my parents ever own a cat. I am allergic to cats and therefore stayed away from any that were owned by friends. This leaves my experience with cats linked solely to cartoons and movies. What do cartoon cats drink? Milk. When watching horror movies about cats, what do cats dislike being sprayed with? Water. Therefore, cats do not drink water. I’ve learned since making this statement that this is not true and have been gently corrected in many such ways of thinking. My husband has had endless hours of laughter at my expense and most of that comes from my newly forming bond with animals. This ignorance is by no means limited to cats and I’m more than willing to take the laughter aimed in my direction as long as there are people willing to, when they catch their breath, help me learn from my mistakes and misguided logic. My change from not liking animals to being an animal lover is a work in progress.

So while being exposed to animals my beliefs about them are changing and with that I’ve developed a sense of attachment. Going from “I’m not an animal person” to posting pics of our dog, horses, cows, and cat, and making me look like a hypocrite to those that have not seen the process of change.

On a more serious note there is my views of different cultures. When younger, my beliefs were that anyone who did not do things the way that I did, did not look the way I do, dressed differently, or held different beliefs was wrong. Plain and simply wrong. They should have changed to suit my view of the world. With extensive reading and some limited cultural exposure my thoughts have changed from stubbornness to mild acceptance and in most cases to awe, wonder, and gratitude for those that are different from me. With knowledge came change and a more solid understanding of the previously unknown. I still hold fast to some of my core beliefs but I’m able to accept that not everyone holds those beliefs and neither of us are more right or wrong.

I’m working had to not be upset by conflicting views and that is leading to some interesting conversations, that I can now have like an adult, without anger and fear. I like a good debate and even if that debate does not change the mind of my opponent or myself I’d like to think that we are both taking away a better understanding of the others stance. Instead of just throwing ideas at each other with no facts to back them up, debates have become fact seeking missions with both sides working to find common ground or at least some acceptance. I want this to continue on every level; world views, politics, economy, gardening, emotions, parenting.

I want to forever look like a hypocrite.





Yesterday was definitely hot. With little to no natural moisture in the soil and not much in sight, I made the trek out to the farm for a much needed watering session, waiting until just before dark to head out. On the way out I watched as the clouds built to the west, almost certain that they would build and just before dropping the much needed moisture they would blow north. This happens on such a regular bases that no matter how much rain is predicted I will still go out to water, and with temperatures in the 90’s in June I couldn’t take a chance on the rain missing the garden.

Watching the clouds build was quite a sight. Blue skies and late day sun prevailed to the east, white clouds blossoming and slowly turning gray off to the west. The air had cooled just enough that I could leave open the window and let the crisp scent of the building storm blow through the vehicle.

I’m greeted at the gate by an over excited and rapidly growing Great Pyrenees pup. The fading light intensifying the colors around his white mass of fur, causing him to stand out in stark contrast to the waist high green grass and brown dirt road.

Getting out of the vehicle I stand still and embrace the calm, cooling air. With the storm building in the distance, the air temperature has dropped and the slight breeze is a refreshing change from the heat of the day, the suns rays having lost the struggle with the turning earth and growing clouds. Inhaling deeply, I take in the scent of green grass, tangy weeds, and the mellow dry soil, all laced with the fresh smell of the far off rain. The hills surrounding the yard haloed by the retreating light.

Spraying the first few feet of each row, the water arching on to each plant, the rubber hose quickly turning slick with condensation from the cool water rushing through it. My mind and body relax with the rhythm of the work, sweeping the water back and forth over each row, savoring the flawless evening. With each thorough pass of water the ground grows dark, soaking in the moisture that doesn’t have a  chance to puddle on the surface, outlining each small plant and forming small droplets on their leaves.

Tugging on the hose, as I move slowly up the row, the rubber straining along with my arms. The routine job giving my mind a chance to wander, it runs free into the clouds and I imagine drops of rain starting to fall on my shoulder and upturned face. Cool droplets slowly running down my cheeks and neck, spots of water slowly blending together on my shirt. My mind turns to study the course that my life has taken. How I never thought that the weather would have such a profound effect my daily routine. This wonderful soil under my feet has caused me to tune into the world around me on so many levels. For some I am thankful, others not so much. I love the time to think, especially about current events and recently read books. I hate the constant anxiety that weather of any form brings.

With all the plants watered, I slowly walk back down the rows, making sure that everything got enough to drink. I reluctantly push down on the hydrant’s handle and turn off the water, signifying the end of my wondering thoughts. Watching the clouds blow slowly to the north, I’m glad that I’ve come out to water since the rain will yet again not be falling over my little patch of heaven.