WTF?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/I-Am-T-Pain-Microphone-White-and-Silver/16560504

Sing like T-Pain with this microphone.

Seriously!?? WTF? Do you really want your children singing like some ghetto rat, who has no values, no education, nothing but Auto-Tune and douche bag gansta friends?

No wonder kids today are so damn screwed up. Glamorizing the "thug"life has done nothing for this country, but add onto the ever growing heap of bullshit. I don't giving a flying fuck if it's their "lifestyle" or how they represent their culture. The culture of Africa has nothing to do with the whatever the hell they are rapping about. Black, white, purple, or brown, this is the US of A. Pull up your pants, sing like a human being, and give children a decent person to look up too, T-Pain.

Freakin loser. I can't believe I just saw that commercial.

Hello Friday!

Today was a great day. Number one, it's Friday. Number two, I found something fun to do with my time.

I'm going to start nannying a couple hours a day starting next Monday. It might be temporary, it might be long term. Depends on how well we do together and whether or not I get a full time job. The little girl is the prettiest little diva around and SMART. Sign language, reading, colors, and will start numbers soon. She's only one! Well, one and a couple months. I LOVE kids that like to do stuff. I'm absolutely not a newborn person. I prefer older kids. More fun! Although, I do think boys tend to be more playful than girls. Anyways, I'm excited!

Number three, my husband and I are heading out for a Halloween Party tonight. I love getting dressed up! Last year we went as Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction. Everyone thought I really dyed my hair black and bobbed it. I had to pull off my wig at one point to convince people! It wasn't even a good wig. Must of been the alcohol and dim lights. I don't smoke by the way, it's just for theatrical purposes.

This year, I got a real wig. We drove up to a wig store in Markum a couple weeks ago. The owner's daughter gave me 40% off on a human hair wig, and honestly, it looks fabulous. If I can get my eyebrows to cooperate, I'll be set! FBI badge and all. Hint enough?

"I WANT TO BELIEVE"

Is that better? 

Can't wait to get everything thrown together! Our favorite local band is playing tonight as well. They always show us a good time. 

We have another busy weekend ahead. Tomorrow is a friends wedding, our last of the year. Thank heavens. As much as I love weddings, we've been to far too many this year. This should be the fanciest one yet. The bride and her family have incredibly good taste. She was the makeup artist at my wedding and was phenomenal! Her bridal shower was just beautiful as well. As long as we don't party too hard, everything should be a go for Sunday. That is pumpkin carving day. It is an entire day ordeal at my folks. People get quite competitive. Prizes, food, pumpkin seeds. The whole she-bang. 

At some point on Sunday I need to render the fat I picked up from the organic butchers. I'll be venturing into soap making after that. Once of course, I settle on the oils and fats I'd like to start off with. I've been reading a ton about it after being inspired by a local blogger/farmer. 

http://midlifefarmwife.blogspot.com/

I buy my organic pork, beef, and raw milk from her farm. I've also been buying her handmade soaps. She uses her very own organic pig fat and produces absolutely wonderful soaps. The lather is fantastic and so is the rinse. I'm very picky when it comes to soap. I also love how she isn't wasting the commonly looked over by-products of an animal. So few people realize what soap once was and what is SHOULD be. Instead, everyone thinks that chemically laden soaps, like Dove and Dial, are normal and ok. NO, they are NOT ok. I'd rather bathe my body with something natural, rather than harsh dyes, fake scents, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Our skin absorbs those chemicals. No thanks! I'll stick to what Mother Nature intended us to bathe with. 

The milk I've been buying from her is in a league of its own. Just like their website says, it tastes like melted ice cream. I see nothing wrong with drinking whole milk, unlike many of my friends. As long as it's in moderation, why not? The benefits outweigh the downsides. Drinking unprocessed milk is also incredibly good for you. Rather than ramble on about milk, I'll pass on this link. Please read it if you are interested! 

http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/raw_milk_health_benefits.html

I'm quite the foodie. Very much into organic and clean eating. I'll admit I have my week moments. Particularly when it comes to Culver's Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake shake. It's heaven on a spoon. No one is perfect, but I try. My husband enjoys my adventurous cooking. He used to be such a stick in the mud when it came to trying something new. Now, that isn't the case. Unless peas are involved. He won't touch those. That's ok, I'll take all the peas I can get! 

Brr n Grr

The downside to living in an old (probably 100 years old) farmhouse is the oil furnace. For some reason, it's hooked up so we actually have to go down into the dark, smelly basement and turn the sucker (or blower) on. Then it roars to life and slightly stinks up the house. I had a dream last night it was leaking oil. I've not yet checked it, mainly because I don't want to go down there. It's really creepy and I don't do stairs in the morning. Or ever. 

I'll happily bundle myself up on the couch, in the sunlight, until my husband turns into a human (without coffee, he resembles a something straight outta a horror movie). I might be chipper as a songbird in the morning, but my coordination is lacking. Our stairs to the upstairs are slightly steep and narrow. A couple weeks ago I missed a step and tumbled my way down. Talk about ouch. Other times I have slid down on my ass. My middle name should be Grace. The stairs to the basement end on a concrete floor. I really don't want to go kerplunk down those bastards. The old farmer who lived here before us did something wonky with those steps as well. A couple actually fold up. So, if I step the wrong way, the stair step flips up. I'm pretty positive I will break my leg going down there. To prevent that day, I prefer to use the basement steps. Oddly, we have two entrances into the basement. Concrete steps from the garage, and then crazy wooden steps from inside the house. One day, hopefully soon, when we  upgrade our electrical, we will put a deep freezer down in the basement. That's the day I will happily go into stankment. I mean basement. 

Speaking of freezers, I completely loaded ours up yesterday. It's bad to the point if you open the door too fast, something will crush your toes. I really need a deep freezer. Actually, I really need an electrical upgrade on the house for that extra 40 amps of power. Then I can take a shower with my little heater plugged in while my husband is on the computer in the other room. Wouldn't that be something?! Gosh, that would be the day. Taking a shower without that heater is NOT an option. There is no heat register in the room. It's a strange set up there, positively. This house mainly subsides on the heat rising from down stairs. Heat that is, if we turn on the furnace. It's suppose to freeze relatively good tonight. I suppose we will turn it on for a little bit before bed. 

The downside to the furnace in this house is the fact that we cannot leave it in the winter. Sometimes Ron and I like to take short winter trips. If or when we do, someone has to either stay here or stop by to turn the heat on once or twice a day. Otherwise there will be frozen pipes! I'd love to have a HVAC guy check out this situation, but the last time we had it worked on, an $800 came along with it. For reasons we cannot understand either. Ugh. I won't go there. 

Anyways, for now, we are extra chilly. But I hear you burn more calories that way! In my case, a little extra goes a long way! No, not really, but I like to think it does. I hate to exercise in the winter and around here, it gets mighty cold. I've been walking up and down our road (2 miles) daily and loving it.

It's easy to see why I love it.

My dogs enjoy it too. Well, the puppy does. Dutch, she's a sensitive girl. A overweight and lazy kind of sensitive. She doesn't like gravel and basically doesn't like to move, unless there is something that requires barking at. Our Dutchy girl is also quite the escape artist. Here, she demonstrates not moving. 

Dutch has never been one to stay in the yard. She believes wandering is her basic right. Which is probably why she was an emaciated stray when we picked her up from the pound two years ago. With a lot of love and food, she really turned into a great dog, minus the Houdini act. We've run two trolley lines for the dogs out the back door. Our puppy could do without one, he's a really good boy.

This video shows how good my boy is. And how annoying my Collie can be.

http://s1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee495/ronandash/?action=view&current=IMG_1946.mp4

Our Collie girl though, man. The neighbor brought her back on Sunday. He lives over a mile away, across a very busy road. What a nice guy. At least we know who's driving the semi down our road constantly. It's also nice he notices where our damn dog belongs. Dutch was only out for a half hour! For now, she is banished to my parents house. They have a fence and my sister loves that dog. We are researching new harnesses as well. Putting in an electric fence is going to be $1900. Finishing the PVC fence is going to be $2500. A new harness or chicken wire is going to have to do for now. I love my Dutchy girl, even though I want to strangle her every time she escapes. It's hard to be so mad at that sweet face though!

Starting Anew

June 2011: We were told of a country home, on 3 acres, that needed TLC, but was available for an outrageously good price.

July 2011: We went to the place, saw the potential, and dived in!

August 2011: We spent a small fortune rehabbing the house (IE: plumbing, electrical, carpets, paint, removing wallpaper, everything, ect ect). My folks now call it the Plantation. There was also an entire spring/summer worth of weeds that needed serious taming. With a little help from a great landscaper, the weed beast was beaten into submission.

September 2011: We moved in! Then slowly, but surely, unpacked, re-arranged, and decorated the house into something purty. It's still a WIP.


October 2011: MARRIED! October 1st, 2011, on a 65 degree, sunny, amazing autumn afternoon, we said "I DO" with all our friends and family to see. It was so perfect, I couldn't ask for a better day.

 

Now:

Well, after a crazy busy, horribly stressful winter/spring/summer of rehabbing and wedding planning, our lives took an unexpected (but somewhat expected) turn. I was laid off last Friday. We didn't think it would be so soon. I was actually expecting it after the holiday's. Not a week after we returned from our honeymoon. Now I wish we wouldn't have taken one. That's $1000 we could have saved. Even though all of our rooms were paid for in advance, as well as the airfare, we spent a pretty penny on wine, food, and other things. I mean, you don't go to Oregon and Washington, with their amazing wine and incredible, locally sourced food and NOT spend money. I'll admit we might have overdone it on the wine, but thing is I'm cellaring it all. We will have one bottle on our anniversaries until we are out. Then it's time for a trip back, or move. I shipped home 10 amazing bottles of vino. When an older lady overheard my idea at a tasting room, she was nearly in tears when she came over to talk. She told us she was a romantic at heart, and wished she would of thought of that idea 40 years ago. It was endearing and sweet.  So, at least I have that thought in my head and am not completely regretting the trip. I do regret shipping the $300 worth of fish, crab, clams, and scallops home though. Then again, how was I to know I'd be laid off so soon?

All the money we received from the wedding was used on house bills. Had I known I'd be without an income, I would of dragged out payments a lot longer. Oh well, less bills I suppose. We still have a couple of large ones, including carpet, heating (damn expensive oil furnace), water systems, and my credit card. Ok, maybe more than a couple. It's a little scary, but I think with proper budgeting, we will survive. What scares us the most is the unexpected. For example, the day before our honeymoon, our puppy decided to bloat. He was screaming crying in pain. Luckily, it wasn't bloat. The vet basically told us our baby is a fat ass and overate. We found out he ate his sisters food and had two bowls of his own. Shame on mom and dad for not conferring and feeding the baby twice. $350 later at the emergency vet, our minds were put at ease. Damn dog.

ANYWAYS, yes, we are scared. Yes, I've filed for UE. Yes, I'm looking for a new job. But what kind? If I can get a full time job, hell yes. If not, I'll work part time and take more classes at our local community college. If I can make enough dough to cover these classes, we can survive off my husbands income, hopefully.

Right now I'm optimistic. It varies, usually by the hour. Depression isn't an option for me. I won't let myself do what I did last winter, when we were still in our old house. We were struggling to find a buyer, find a new place to live, and I recently lost my wedding venue. Then come summer, everything fell into place. Amazing house, incredible venue, school going well, job good.

I've got my hopes reserved, because I really don't think people get as lucky as we did twice. Then again, it doesn't hurt to have a little, right?

Now, we are starting fresh. A new house, a new life together. Maybe, just maybe, I'll figure out what I'd like to do with my life.

It would be a start!