10 Random Things From The Last Week

1. My accountant asked how my weight loss program is going. He's the last person I would have ever expected to ask me.

2. Lanny told me that our sewer line froze. The thing is that no one's been home for two weeks so there shouldn't have been any water going through the pipe anyway.

3. I fell asleep before 11pm two nights in a row! (First time that's happened in a while)

4. I woke up 45 minutes before I needed to be up and decided to unload the dishwasher and read instead of going back to bed.

5. I figured out how to play some of the songs from the song book on the piano. No need to make me play for church, though... I can only play with the right hand and I can't play chords.

6. I made a cherry cheesecake but didn't eat a single piece of it. I also managed to stay away from the ice cream most of the time.

7. The big toe on my left foot remains sore despite the fact that the ungrateful cow stepped on it three weeks ago. I discovered this by stubbing it painfully on a dresser the other morning. (Lanny didn't think that I stubbed my toe on accident... He thought I did it just to see if it was still sore...)

8. I realized that my dog Mindy is most likely going to have puppies within a few months. (If she does, any takers? The mother is 1/2 Australian Shepherd, part Alaskan Husky, part Malamute, and part Golden Lab. The father is a philandering chocolate lab+who know's what? that needs to be neutered.)

9. I learned to love an automatic dishwasher.

10. I have the night off of chores and am absolutely loving it!

Tax Time

I just love this time of year...(note the heavy sarcasm in that statement) Lanny and I are going to be meeting with our accountant tomorrow to turn in our tax paperwork. I must say that I am both looking forward to and dreading this appointment. I am looking forward to it because then we will be done for another year, but dreading it because we will find out how much we owe the IRS for the last year. I am also dreading it because Lanny and I have this tradition of going to DQ after the appointment to 'celebrate'. Unfortunately, while I have been slipping in the dieting area, fast food and ice cream still make me sick if I have too much. Perhaps we will have to change our 'celebrate' tradition to Subway instead....

I must also add that I took for granted how easy it was to do my taxes before I married a self-employed farmer. It's times like this that I miss a paycheck with taxes already deducted, EZ-tax forms, and my dad's proficient use of the TurboTax computer program.

Bits and Pieces

I love to quilt. I love that I can take a seemingly innocuous piece of material and change it into something unique. I love that I can put together the same pattern but it's never the same quilt as the last. I also love that quilts keep you warm and cozy on cold winter days. I love how quilts show just how much love was put into them. They are a wonderfully useful gift and, in my opinion, you can never have enough of them!

I made my brother Tommy a quilt with the "Sunbonnet Sam' pattern. It's so cute with a little straw-hatted boy in overalls and a flannel shirt with his 'fishin' pole over his shoulder. I added a "not-so-secret" pocket in one corner just to make it different. Greg and Aaron both have homemade quilts courtesy of me. The fun thing about those quilts (just a basic block pattern) is that I used pieces from my oldest, favorite pair of jeans (that no longer fit) for some of the blocks. I also found that bandanas make really fun corner pieces for the borders.

I guess that's my favorite part of quilting. I can take a treasured cloth item that's meant for the ragbag and reuse it. It adds character to the quilt and then there's a history to go along with it. I have this dream that my kids will all have a "Mom Made" quilt with a story behind each patch. I have a good start on one quilt already. (I've also been toying with the idea of 're-doing' my wedding dress. I heard of a lady who made her's into baptismal gowns for her kids and I think I have fallen in love with the idea.)

Catching some Zzzzzzz....

Before I met Lanny, I was not a napper unless I was 1. sick or 2. working night shift at the Old Folk's Home. Even after we first were married, I still did not grasp the concept of an all-day Sunday snooze marathon. It drove me nuts that Lanny loved nothing more than sleeping all day when I had all of this energy and wanted to 'get out'. Fast forward to May 2008. I had started to nap on Sundays, just not as much as he was, but then I started doing chores on a regular basis. Now, I out-nap my husband some days. Like today... I won't admit it unless he asks, but I did fall back asleep after he left this afternoon. To recap my day, we climbed into bed for our daily, after-breakfast snooze. Total time-30 minutes. He hit the 'snooze' button a few times. Total time-15 minutes. He climbed out of bed and got to work finishing up our tax stuff, I slept on. Total time-60 minutes. He left on an errand, I was supposed to get up and get my act together but continued napping. Total time-55 minutes. I woke up but didn't get out of bed and fell back asleep. Total time-16 minutes. Total napping time this afternoon-176 minutes. And I feel like I need to go to bed right now, I am that tired. Darn those late nights of visiting and sauna-ing after evening chores and having a sick husband who hacks and coughs half the night....

Do you believe in dreams?

Do you believe in dreams? I am not sure how much stock I put in dreams but here's one dream that definitly left an impression. I was sitting on a bench in this garden maze (you know, the kind with high hedge walls?) on a sunny summer day. Picture perfect. The walls of the maze formed a three sided room around my seat and I am holding a peacefully sleeping baby girl in my arms. She is cradled close, almost smiling and I know that she is my daughter. Suddenly I hear the light giggle of a little girl wafting through the air and look up to see a child of about 5 or 6 run past the entrance to my garden room. She has curly blonde hair and is wearing a frilly white dress. I notice this as she peeks in at me. Then, smiling as calmly as my slumbering child, she walks towards me with arms outstretched. As this girl approaches, she appears to grow before my eyes. She stops in front of me, aged to a young woman of 20 with a laughing smile, and motions for me to hand my baby to her. Cradling the infant, she turns to walk out the way she came. I make no move to stop her, knowing instinctively that my baby is in good hands. Just before she leaves the room, I ask her "What's your name?" With a wide grin, she answers, "Jodi" and leaves.

Now what makes this dream so different from the rest of the ones that I have had? One-it happened during a particularly emotional time after my first miscarriage (a baby that I was POSITIVE was a girl), Two-my mother-in-law had a daughter named Jodi who died soon after birth, and Three-While I knew that my m-i-l had a baby who died very young, I didn't know her name was Jodi until I told Lanny about my dream. What do you think? Was this merely my mind finding a way for me to cope with the loss and grief I was feeling over the miscarriage or was it God's way of showing me that my baby was going to be well-cared for in her heavenly home? I believe the latter.

Cows and crap

Cows go poop... Alot... It's a fact of nature, I know, but I just thought I would point it out. Before I met Lanny, cow manure was nothing more than a pile of stinky poop. We would head out to The Camp and pass the dairy farm in Traprock Valley on a hot summer day...Phew! What a stink! However, now my eyes have been opened. Manure is solid (and sometimes liquid) gold to farmers. It's free fertilizer if it's from your own barnyard animals. Yes, it stinks. Yes, it splatters. Yes, it's disgusting. But you can do so much with it. Obviously, it helps things grow. It's also a pretty good cow health indicator. It's amazing how much you can learn about a cow's well-being from a cow pattie! The color, the shape, the smell, the texture...it all tells the story of how that cow is feeling. Mindy, my doggy, loves the more solid bits. She's been known to sneak into the calf pens to get the choicest pieces for an afternoon snack. It's a pretty good clothing dye, too. If you want proof, come check out my barn clothes though it's more of a 'tie-dyed' effect than all-over coverage. Lanny has said that's it's a natural air freshener. I disagree, but he said "What's more natural than that smell?" One last suggestion: baseball bases. I guess the dried ones work pretty good but the mushy ones make for an interesting ball game. ;)

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Well, it's that time of year again... Valentine's Day. Full of hearts and pretty pinks and candy and flowers and etc. etc. My hubby doesn't believe in V-day. He thinks we should be celebrating love every day so what's the point of V-day? So, another year goes by without the mushy cards or roses or candy boxes. But in all reality, do I mind? Nope. Not one bit. I told him that I would make him bring any flowers he buys me back to the shop because they are so darn expensive at this time of year. I can't eat candy because I get sick from the sugar content. A mushy sentimental card would be nice but kind of a waste of money. Besides, he really does show me how much he loves me in other ways. So I don't care if I don't get more than a verbal valentine because it means alot just like that.

That aside, I do have to confess that each time I walk down those candy and card aisles in the store, I miss those elementary school days. You know, when everyone would bring those cute little cards with kitschy messages on them folded in half around a piece of candy? We used to make card holders and then hurriedly toss cards in them so we could eat the candy sooner. *Sigh* To be a kid again... Almost makes me want to buy the candy and cards. I said almost...

Five Favorite Things

I have come to realize that I like things in groups of fives... I am currently obsessed with five authors (see sidebar) and five homemade things (again-see sidebar). It gets to the point where I go to the library and check out each book by a particular author (not all on the say day, mind you). Once I have read them all, the books become ho-hum so I switch to another author. Same goes for the handmade things. I will do/make that thing until I lose interest and then something else takes it's place but it's always in groups of fives. I have a college pal who once claimed that she had to eat things in pairs (eg. two chips at a time). My sister-in-law Heidi tends to be interested in things for three weeks. Lanny's interests last about three days. If it lasts longer than that, then I know he's serious about it. Does anyone else out there have idiosyncrasies like this or is it just a select few of us?

Organic Farming

Well, it's official. We are organic farmers. Yep, we got our organic certification just the other day. Lanny argues that the full calendar year for transitioning to organic is up on March 1st, but I say that since we got the certification, we are organic now. What's a few weeks difference matter?

I may be big into organics now, but I wasn't always. In fact, I knew very little about organics (aside from the fact that organic groceries always cost more in the store) before I met Lanny. Now, it has become an integral part of how I approach gardening, farming, grocery shopping, just about everything! Sometimes I wonder if I am a bit TOO gung-ho about it, but I just think about how much better I feel about what I am eating, drinking, using, and doing. Then I don't worry about it. My mother-in-law once said that she doesn't feel like she needs to worry about eating an unwashed organic apple (compared to conventional) because it doesn't have all of the sprays and chemicals on it. I concur.

Sloppy, Slushy Days

Is Ol' Man Winter just toying with us or is Spring actually on the way? It is so wonderfully warm outside right now. (Well, it is for this time of year in MN anyway...) I am getting so itchy to be outside and just BREATHE! In fact, I am starting to daydream about my garden this year. Shockingly, I ended up with quite a bit of produce from my weed-laden garden of the past year (see first post and you'll understand why I am so shocked). We are just now eating the last of the potatoes and green beans. I got my seed catalog out and have thumbed through it, daydreaming of rows filled with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, etc. I can't wait to start! Unfortunately, it's still Winter and the ground is still covered in snow. While it's been warming up enough to make me daydream of my dream garden (though not all of that weeding!), it's also been warming up enough to melt the snowbanks lining our driveway and the roads. What a mess! All of that slop and slush and mush... That's the part I don't like about Spring-the thaw.

This warm weather has also got me thinking more about exercising. I can't wait to get out and start walking again! I know, I know... I could be out walking right now, but it's too sloppy to really get moving. You can walk but once you get up to speed, you had better watch your step! I slipped several times this past winter due to slick roads and driveways and would prefer to keep myself upright. Although, I have discovered snowshoeing. Fun, fun, fun! BTW-an update with the whole lifestyle change, it's a work in progress. I have lost some weight (quite a bit in my mind but still got a ways to go...) and am feeling SO much better about myself. Unfortunately, I have found myself slipping back into some bad habits-too much starch and sugar, not enough sleep, not enough exercise. Still, I have noticed many things have changed for the better. I do tend to think more about what I eat, especially when my hubby points out how much I am eating of the bad stuff. The sugar cravings are getting more manageable, especially since I get so sick from eating the stuff. Exercise has become fun! What a surprise to find out how good I can feel after a workout! If I keep myself in a routine, I find it easier to work working out into my day's schedule. Unfortunately for me, if I skip too many days, I get out of that routine and BAM! I am back to couch-potatoe status. Grrrr.... Got to work on it but no one said that this would be easy.