Category: Random Thoughts

My Forever and I went to the same small, rural school. He’s two years older than me. He was in my sister’s class. We didn’t start dating until I was in college, though. We started dating in December of my freshman year of college, but broke up a few months later because I didn’t want to be in a committed relationship and just want to have fun in college.

The thing is, he never quit doing all the dating things. I was very clear that I didn’t want to be in a committed relationship. He wore me down. However, I never agreed to date him after we broke up the first time. We did all the dating things, but weren’t dating.

He proposed 2.5 years later. We got married 5 months later at the wedding of my dreams. Everything was perfect.

It was important to me to wait until our wedding night to have sex for the first time. He was nothing but a gentleman while not dating and our engagement. He never pressured me into doing more than I wanted to. I was so nervous about our wedding night. What if I did sex wrong? What if I didn’t like it? What if he didn’t want to be married to me after having sex with me?

Of course, all nonsense. Ladies, find a man that will take care of you. In the moments where I question whether he cares about me at all, if I can logically go back to our wedding night and every time since, I know that’s not true. He is the best! He takes care of me. He thinks I can do everything on the farm and pushes me so hard there, but is the sweetest loving me.

If you are being abused, get out. There is no reason to accept abuse. It is NOT your fault and very rarely ever changes.

With that said, we decided early on that divorce was not an option for us. We have committed to working through our stuff and coming out on the other side better. It’s not easy. But, goodness, it is SO worth it.

If you enjoyed reading this, we would love it if you would hit the share button and introduce us to your friends. You all are the reason we get to do this and we’re so appreciative of that! Please help us continue serving people by sharing us with your family and friends! Leave us a comment and let us know how this has impacted your life. It’s the little things that make me so happy to continue doing this, such as a like, comment or share! Have you subscribed to the page so new blogs will arrive in your email automatically? Go to our homepage to do so! Please and thank you! 

Girl’s Trip 2019

A quick rundown of an annual tradition that my mom, sisters and niece and nephews go on. Each year, we go on a trip. “Our Girls’ Trip” that now features two nephews.

It works out that my oldest sister and her kids and my mom leave earlier and travel together. My middle sister, Kayla, and I go together and have a more condensed time away.

Here are the takeaways:

1. This time together is invaluable. We are rarely together, and almost never just us gals. It’s truly a treat.
2. We eat around a table, all together. We cook our meals at our rental together. We rest, we play, we talk, we sleep, we be tourists, we simply be.
3. We don’t spend a lot of money, but have a really great time.
4. We are all adults that are accustomed to our own houses, our own ways. We all vacation differently. It takes patience, give and take and sometimes walking away to make this happen.

I know how blessed I am to have sisters and a mom that are willing to take some time away from our husbands to go on a trip together. While not every moment is sunshine and rainbows, it is overall a great experience. I’m thankful for the time I get with my family.

Do you go on family trips with more than just your immediate family? I’ve always thought it would be fun to do a whole family trip with husbands, kids and everybody. Our lifestyles make that super difficult to do, but maybe someday we’ll be able to! Have an amazing rest of the week.

A couple quick things today for you. 

1. Grandparents Day

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t miss my grandma. We grew up with one grandparent that was close to us and I miss her every single day. I so wish I could ask her my chicken questions, or show her the peaches that I preserved by myself for the first time this year, or ask how she was the wife that she was, or so many more things. I miss having her here to go visit. I miss her. 

Take advantage of this past weekend being grandparents day to show your grandparents the love you have for them. If you are missing your grandparents, like I am think fondly of your memories with them and then find an older person that maybe doesn’t have family and go visit them. The hope is that we will all get to be an older person and so many of them just want to talk to someone, anyone. 

2. September 11, 2001

So many good people lost their lives, some by choice by running into buildings that most were running out of, and some simply because they were booked on those planes. It has been 18 years since that terrible day where everyone can tell you what they were doing when those planes crashed into those buildings. 

18 years some have had to go without their loved ones because of terrorists. Since then, so many more have lost loved ones because they have raised their hands, stood forward and said yes to defending strangers that they don’t even know. My parents taught us ALWAYS to thank our service men and women. I for sure don’t want to be doing what they are doing am so thankful everyday of my life that there are people willing to defend this country. 

Take a moment today to say I love you to your loved ones, thank you to the ones that are defending and a silent moment to the ones that lost their lives that day. 

Every day is precious. 

The Life Lessons Really Learned in School by FFA

Paul Lierz

August means back to school season. This is the start of a decade of being out of high school for me! I remember very little that I learned in school in practical applications. What I do remember is ‘Lierz’ Philosophy of Life’.

Paul Lierz was my FFA advisor and at the start of every year, we went through ‘Lierz’ Philosophy of Life’. One quarter of vo-ag in 8th grade and four in high school for the first 2 to 3 days of school, we heard and took notes and took a test about the same thing as the year before.

To do this day, Lierz remains my incredibly underpaid life coach. There are certain people in every person’s life that has a lasting impact. He is one of those for me.

On Monday mornings we would go around the room and give a brief summary of our weekends. To this day, I have no idea why that simple practice meant so much to me. It was amazing to me that a teacher would take the precious time they are allotted with us to get through so much state required crap, to listen about our weekends and comment on them. He really cares about his students.

His classes were the least structured in high school, but they are the classes I refer back to the most. Very few of my college notebooks made it to Matt and I’s house and none from high school, except the blue spiral bound notebook that probably was one of those ten cent editions that has the notes from Lierz’ Philosophy of Life, followed by the cattle, farming, etc. notes.

I truly believe the clubs and activities in high school are hugely dependent on your relationship with the advisor or coach. There are just some people that don’t mesh. I’m so thankful FFA was such a big part of my life. Not only did I get a lifelong supporter and coach from my own advisor, but also in fellow advisors.

We used to do officer campouts with Rock Creek and Centralia, two schools in our district. Their advisors, DH and BobbyV, are both amazing and supportive of me as well to this day. Watching the three of these men interact all through high school at events and competitions, taught me so much.

• Lifelong friendships are possible and beautiful.
• We are all different with different strengths, but can absolutely work together to use all of those to advantages.
• Life is hard. Have a support system.
• These men cared so much about what they were doing to take so much time away from own families during the year to go to events, competitions, conventions, campouts, etc with us.
• High school isn’t about getting the credits to get your diploma. It’s about taking the life lessons buried deep in the mundane and tucking them away for when you’re going to need them.
• A trusted mentor that you can talk to is worth so much!

Throughout the rest of the month, I’m going to be going back through ‘Lierz’ Philosophy of Life’. I’ll be relaying what it is and why it meant so much to me.

If you enjoyed reading this, we would love it if you would hit the share button and introduce us to your friends. You all are the reason we get to do this and we’re so appreciative of that! Please help us continue serving people by sharing us with your family and friends! Leave us a comment and let us know how this has impacted your life. It’s the little things that make me so happy to continue doing this, such as a like, comment or share! Have you subscribed to the page so new blogs will arrive in your email automatically? Go to our homepage to do so! Please and thank you!

Summer is all about vacations, rest and relaxation! (In our dreams at least!) This #wildwednesdaytpstyle is all about how to plan the perfect vacation! We’ll give you everything you need to address to come back refreshed from vacation and not needing a vacation from your vacation!

#1: Plan When You’re Going on Vacation

This is a no brainer, but an excellent starting point. As farmers, there is a narrow margin of time that Matt is least pissy about leaving the farm. Think about your life, your kids’ schedules and figure out when is the least stressful time to take a time out from your life. It is a non-negotiable for me for us to leave the farm once per year. Every year is pretty similar for us so I know the late July, August time frame works best for us. Figure out when that is for you.

#2: Where to Vacation?

For some, a spot instantly popped into your head to this question. For others of us, some thought is required. I like to start with what is it on vacation that makes you come back ready to tackle the world. Is that seeing and experiencing amazing things? Is that visiting family you never get to see? Is that sitting in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and seeing nobody? Is it being close to water? Is it doing everything your kids want to do?

Matt and I, we’ve tried some different vacation styles and when I asked him where he wanted to go this year, he immediately said Arkansas. Last year, we rented a cabin right on the water and did absolutely nothing. This year, we’re going to a different part of Arkansas, but the same idea. 99% of you just cringed, rolled your eyes and decided that anybody that had a dream vacation of going to Arkansas, does not get to give you advice on how to accomplish your vacation goals.

The thing about vacations and escaping your reality for even a short period of time is that it needs to be refreshing for you and your family. For Matt and I, a cabin by water and seeing nobody and no cell service is a little slice of heaven. I want to strongly encourage you to quit trying to get the perfect Instagram worthy photo and really think about what you want on vacation.

#3: Vacation Expectation Meeting

Alright, you’ve booked your spot, put your vacation time on the schedule at work and now counting down the days. Now, have a sit down with the family (everybody, kids included) and have everybody list what they want to do on vacation, in order, top to bottom. Include activities and sight-seeing or swimming or sitting in a recliner. Whatever you want to do on vacation from most to least. Then compile those lists. Explain that everything just isn’t going to happen, most likely. Try to combine everybody’s desire so everybody gets to experience something on their list.

Have a frank conversation with everybody about how much is going to be spent, where you’re staying, how much time you’ll be out and about, how many times you’re eating out versus cooking in, who can go in the pool unsupervised and who can’t and what the sleeping arrangements are going to be. After having this conversation, you won’t have to worry about tantrums that your child isn’t going to get ice cream every time you walk by an ice cream stand because they know how much money is going to be spent and have had expectations put in place.

A side note, check back in with the last #marriagemondaytypstyle post to have a private conversation with your spouse about their sex expectations for the vacation. Planning is key! You get mad and upset when your expectations aren’t met. Have the conversation to avoid the fights!

#4: Taking Care of Business

Next, is Fido going on vacation or remaining behind? Do you need to make boarding plans? Or is your sister going to babysit him? Are you having somebody stay and house-sit for you? A neighbor that’s going to grab the mail? Who has emergency numbers for you and know where you’re going and when you’ll be back? Who’s watering the plants? Take care of all these details so you can rest assured on vacation that you won’t be coming back to a disaster.

#5: Enjoy Your Vacation

Next? Enjoy. Pack up and have the most amazing trip ever. Understand that no matter how many expectation meetings you have, things aren’t going to go perfect. So many of us only get away once a year or less. Don’t be stressed or upset on the limited time. Don’t worry about whether your vacation is somebody else’s ideal vacation. Is it filling you and your family? Social media is a highlight reel for so many. Don’t plan your life around that. It’s not worth it. You deserve the rest and relaxation without worrying about what other are thinking.

You’re going to have the most amazing vacation because you’ve put the work in. Just like with anything, magic doesn’t just happen. It’s carefully orchestrated and planned. You deserve it!

If you enjoyed reading this, we would love it if you would hit the share button and introduce us to your friends. You all are the reason we get to do this and we’re so appreciative of that! Please help us continue serving people by sharing us with your family and friends! Leave us a comment and let us know how this has impacted your life. It’s the little things that make me so happy to continue doing this, such as a like, comment or share! Have you subscribed to the page so new blogs will arrive in your email automatically? Go to our homepage to do so! Please and thank you!

Somebody asked me recently what my goal with my blog is. 99% is sharing our lives and creative content that enriches readers life. The other 1% is an online journal to remember life events strictly for me. With that said, you’re more than welcome to carry on with your life and skip past this blog.

This weekend we had the opportunity to celebrate my oldest sister’s children birthdays. All three are close together so we celebrate them with one party.

Saturday morning started with finishing one of our biggest fields of hay left to haul. Praise the sweet baby Jesus! Then Matt and I got on the road headed to Abilene, even a few minutes before I really wanted to leave. Matt drove which is an added bonus for me and I got to simply relax and enjoy. Since we left around lunchtime, we had a lunch date on the road and it was amazing.

After arriving in Abilene, I got to pick up two of the three kids from their naps at Grandma’s. My goal for the day was to spend uninterrupted, one on one time with each of the kids and I accomplished that! Those kids are so special to me. I want them to grow up knowing how much their aunts love them and would do so much for them!

We had rest and relaxation time, family time and celebrating some amazing humans birthdays! It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We got home late, but so happy.

How to find and choose friends

A few months ago, I won a gift card to a local casino’s steakhouse. It had an expiration date and there was no way I was going to let this one pass by. One rainy night Matt and I headed to the casino. It was a middle of the week night, no huge crowds and not a “normal” date night so there was quite a bit of room in the restaurant.

We were seated in a little alcove where we could people watch and talk over our made up stories of their lives, but far enough away that it was intimately nice. We had ordered and were enjoying the bread when an older couple got seated at a table for six right behind us. I love people watching so my attention was immediately drawn to this couple. Old couples that appear in love really intrigue me.

Before long, two more couples joined. Each getting louder and more showy. We’re in small town America and this casino is located on the nearby Indian Reservation in the middle of literally no where. It’s 15 minutes from a town. This casino is a destination for some. From what I gathered this friend group meets there once a year to catch up.

Some of you are enthralled with this story, while the majority are furious that I was eavesdropping/people watching We were in a space that was separated off from the rest of the dining area. There was no way not to listen, just to defend ourselves a little bit.

The waiter appeared and everybody ordered a drink or a bottle of wine for a couple. In between the stories of disappointing rooms and subpar weather for the golf game that afternoon, entree orders were placed and discussed.

Then came the discussion of a missing friend who apparently had lost her husband, through death or divorce I wasn’t sure. Again, I didn’t want to be listening. I wanted to have a nice, rare date night with my husband. I wanted to intimately talk to him about all sorts of things not related to this party. There wasn’t enough room for the waiter to get in between Matt’s chair and the man’s chair behind him. We were that close. And then I heard a line that scarred that date night for all times.

The conversation about the missing woman continued with the polite, we miss her talk. Then who had talked to her last and what had she sounded like. It was decided she hadn’t been going out as much and was becoming a homebody. Then one of the men proclaimed that it had been over a year and she simply needed to, “get over it.” Considering the comment came from a man that had proven to be less than tactful and a little insensitive already in the conversation, I was set to ignore it. Then the rest of the friend group, every single one of the remaining five, agreed that indeed she was drawing it out and needed to move on.

What?! Granted I have zero idea what this lady was actually “getting over”. I have zero idea who this lady is. What I do know is that this group of “friends” were sitting in a restaurant not minding who was overhearing as they progressively got louder the lower the wine bottle got agreeing that this lady had been through a lot, but deciding that it had been over a year and she needed to let it go. A group of friends that appeared to have been friends for years was casually dismissing this missing woman’s agreed upon pain.

I walked away from that dinner my head reeling. This lady could have been mourning the death of her goldfish for a year, I really have no idea. What I know is this “friend” group had zero qualms about discussing her without her being present in a very unflattering and unkind way. There was no sympathy or discussion of how to make this woman’s life better.

Five things to take from this:

1. When you’re sitting in very close quarters with other people, don’t talk loudly if you don’t want to ruin their dinner.
2. Life is hard enough without your friends stabbing you in the back while you aren’t there.
3. True friends are pure gold. You don’t need a lot of them, just a few that will be there for you.
4. Sympathy and love above all else.
5. There are two sides to every story. I could be an eavesdropping jerk and have this all completely out of context and blowing everything out of proportion.

Moral of the blog, you never know. Pick your friends wisely. Find ones that will have your back and never let them go. Life will be easier.

If you enjoyed reading this, we would love it if you would hit the share button and introduce us to your friends. You all are the reason we get to do this and we’re so appreciative of that! Please help us continue serving people by sharing us with your family and friends! Leave us a comment and let us know how this has impacted your life. It’s the little things that make me so happy to continue doing this, such as a like, comment or share! Have you subscribed to the page so new blogs will arrive in your email automatically? Go to our homepage to do so! Please and thank you!

What two ingredients will change your life and make you not dread scrubbing!

Who likes to clean your house? Who loves scrubbing showers, toilets, counters and floors? Exactly one person just got very excited thinking about scrubbing something. Can I please tell you how much I loathe cleaning? Can I also tell you in the next breath how much I love having a clean and put together house? You too? You can have both now!

The secret has been revealed to me. Honestly, you probably already know this, but I LOVE this and HAVE to share in the hopes that at least one person is still wondering down the cleaning aisle praying for a miracle in a bottle like I was.

Bathroom are my least favorite, obviously! Neither of us are good at cleaning, but bathrooms are especially ignored and used most often. We, thankfully, have two full bathrooms. Matt primarily uses one and I use the other. Maybe we should board one up and only use one so we only have one to clean. That’s a really great idea. I think I will go do that right now because it’s clean at this point so before it gets dirty, I’m going to do that.

Alright, I’m back from putting up a non-penetratable wall. We work on the farm and somedays it literally looks like we’ve rolled around in the dirt. Our showers get dirty and gross fast. Then I hate cleaning them because the dirt and soap scum don’t come off and I have to scrub and scrub and scrub some more to get it off. I’ve used all the commercial cleaners and never found one that I really liked.

Until now! It rained a couple mornings this week so I got a little time to do some housework. After avoiding cleaning the bathrooms for WAY too long, and so to avoid it a little longer I googled how to clean bathrooms. (I really didn’t want to clean.) But, I came across a blog that had a two ingredient bathroom cleaner that would change your life.

The recipe:

• 1.5 cups of white vinegar
• 1.5 cups of dawn dish soap

The end. But the real magic is heating the vinegar in the microwave for a couple minutes before mixing with dawn. I don’t know the science behind it, but I know it works. Matt and I had this agreement about 2 months ago that he was in charge of cleaning the house. That has gone about as well as most wives would expect it to go. This worked SO good and I felt SO excited about how well and easy it was to clean my shower that I cleaned his for him. I wish I would have taken before and after, but I’m not sure I would have posted the before pictures. (It really needed cleaned!)

When he got home that night, he asked me how I got a new shower bought, home and installed while he was gone that day. It really is that good! I let it sit and work it’s magic for a while before scrubbing, but man it worked really good.

Bonus, it has two ingredients that aren’t going to harm any people or pets in your house and it really does work magic! Try it. I bet you have vinegar and dawn in your house already. Do it! Let me know how it works. I also scrubbed our stovetop with it and it worked magic with it too.

If you enjoyed reading this, we would love it if you would hit the share button and introduce us to your friends. You all are the reason we get to do this and we’re so appreciative of that! Please help us continue serving people by sharing us with your family and friends! Leave us a comment and let us know how this has impacted your life. It’s the little things that make me so happy to continue doing this, such as a like, comment or share! Have you subscribed to the page so new blogs will arrive in your email automatically? Go to our homepage to do so! Please and thank you!

As everybody posts their vacation perfect pictures, does it make you envious? Make you wish that you could be going on your own vacation, but you simply don’t have the money to do it? Do the next four things and you can be joining them on vacation in no time.

1. Go through your credit card statement and make sure the automatic subscriptions that come out are ones that are still effective and that you use. Often we sign up for things that make sense at the time, but don’t necessarily now.
2. Make a meal plan. I know, I know. Insert eye roll here. We often think that buying the fresh fruits and vegetables is too expensive and that we can’t afford it. Simply not true. Make a quick list of what you are going to eat during the week and buy that food only. You save money in the long run by having the healthy and fresh food and avoiding fast food that makes you feel less than good.
3. Go on an Amazon free week. What?! Revert back to the stone ages? I’m guilty of it too, but Amazon is programmed to sell you things. When you open it up, you’re going to see things you want. If you can’t refuse it when you see it, simply don’t see it.
4. Put yourself on a written budget. Remember your ultimate goal. Vacation, paid for house, financial freedom, never working again. Whatever your goal is, keep it front and center. Make a goal amount chart and mark the goals off as you accomplish them. Don’t bend to peer pressure. Know your why and make sure you’re worried about you and your family and not what everybody else thinks.

These are fairly simple things to enact, but don’t mistake them for useless. If you do these four simple things, you will be on your way to vacation and your picture perfect instagram posts in no time.

If you enjoyed reading this, we would love it if you would hit the share button and introduce us to your friends. You all are the reason we get to do this and we’re so appreciative of that! Please help us continue serving people by sharing us with your family and friends! Leave us a comment and let us know how this has impacted your life. It’s the little things that make me so happy to continue doing this, such as a like, comment or share! Have you subscribed to the page so new blogs will arrive in your email automatically? Go to our homepage to do so! Please and thank you!

We had a couple days that were good for field work this past week! We also got to go on a date night! I’d call that a good week.

Matt has finally discovered online shopping, but he’s done so with my account. Before when packages came in the mail, it was guaranteed to be something fun that I ordered. This week, I checked the mail and two things happened.

First, our mailbox had been hit. We live on a busy road for being in the country. It’s one of the few good roads that go between a highway and another main road. A lot of people use it. Like I said, there were a lot of farmers moving back and forth and more activity on the road than normal. At some point, somebody got a little too close to our mailbox and took it out. While my first reaction was to be very upset, I’m choosing to give whoever it was the benefit of the doubt. The mailbox has paint on it from what hit it and I’m going to choose to believe that whatever hit it, was behind the driver and they didn’t know that they hit it.

Accidents happen. Last summer, I loaded a load of hay that didn’t quite make it home. In the process of the single hay bale flying off the trailer, it took out a mailbox and a partial fence. We went right back and repaired the fence and mailbox as soon as we got the rest of them home. So I understand that accidents happen! Sometimes we’re just moving too fast to prevent them and sometimes no matter how much we try, they aren’t preventable.

Second, after discovering our mailbox needed some work and being disappointed about that, there was a package inside! Something besides bills and junk mail! Happy day! Brought it inside and opened it up to find…insert suspenseful music here… brake parts for the four wheeler. Like I said, Matt has discovered online shopping, but has done so on the account that has my name on it! So now I have to be really careful to not get so excited when packages come because they sometimes mean more work now! I am excited to get the brakes on the four wheeler because I’ve been driving around without them for a while. It’s just a major let down not to get a fun package. Any ladies out there understand!?

So while my mailbox experience wasn’t great this week, I’m thankful there was time to get some work done. The latter part of June we usually have so much more done than we have done. The weather is just not being cooperative this year and there is nothing that we can do. We’re thankful for the rain because we were in a drought just last summer. It just makes it a lot more complicated to get crops in the ground and hay in the bale when the rain is so frequent. There is literally nothing we can do about the weather. It’s one of the things that farmers must deal with. Because of the rain, I’m going to get brakes on the four wheeler! For that I’m very thankful!