old homesteads

    Have you ever driven past an old homestead in the middle of nowhere and wondered who lived there? What kind of life those people must have had? Here in Montana I do this a lot. I want to explore those old homes. I sometimes stop and imagine what it would have been like. Sometimes I make up a whole life for the people that once lived there. If I know the person who owns the property, I get permission to tour the place and peek through the windows and admire the layout of the home.

     I imagine the colors of the walls throughout the years, and wonder if maybe they hung sheets for color. There is a place in the middle of a cow pasture in Ingomar, MT that makes my heart flutter. It is a wonderful little 2 bedroom home, with the wood cook stove still in it. I love to go out there and just admire the home. I can feel the love and care that went into making it the perfect place for a wife and children. I wonder what the wife must have felt as the husband showed her for the first time the home he built for them. I feel the growing love and laughter as the children were born, and the sadness as maybe a loved one was lost.

    When I pull up to that beautiful little homestead I always notice the door. The peeling whitewash against the grey of the cabin wood inspires me. It inspires my creativity and imagination. I can see it in my mind as clear as if I was there. The beautiful newly painted white door against the cabin wood. The white washed window frames and shutters. All of it would make my heart flutter with love. I would stand there in awe and I don't know if I would ever be able to love a home more than the one my husband put so much time and love into making ours.

    If I close my eyes I can smell the burning of the cook stove fire and baking bread. I can hear the laughter of little girls as they play with their pretty little dolls. Sitting there in their bonnets and and pinafores laughing the night away. The mother pulling on her apron in the kitchen area to get dinner started, as the father is out in the field cutting hay. I can hear the faint moo of a mother cow calling to her calf that wandered to far away.
    What a life they must have had. Not much money or luxuries, but a life filled with love and hard work. I wonder what they would think of our world now. The world they worked so hard to give their children and grandchildren. Would our ancestors be happy with what the world has achieved? or would they want to go home to the love filled rooms and do hard work?

    I can only imagine what they would feel, but I know what I feel. I long for the quiet nights with mooing cows lulling me to sleep. I long for the simplicity of the cabin with the bright white door against the grey aging wood. The home a husband so lovingly created  for me to raise our children in.  Those homesteads mean something to me. Deep in my heart I will always long to have what they had. What do you long for? what kind of things inspire you and make your heart flutter?

switching places

My question today is If you had to be someone else for 24 hours, who would you chose and why? What would you do?

My first thought was Channing Tatum's wife, because lets face it, who would not want to be around that man. Especially like his wife gets to experience him. In all honesty when I really think about it, there are way to many options. I do not know who I would like to be for 24 hours other than myself. I could be someone rich and powerful or an Irish farmer, someone from the past like a viking or a queen. I think the best option for me would be to roll the dice and take whatever I am given. There are to many amazing people and to many experiences for me to choose just one.

If I switched with someone else I would continue to be me. I would follow the lifestyle of whoever I switched with, but continue with my personality. Just because you are technically someone else doesn't mean you can't be what is in your soul. I don't even know how to write this post, it frustrates me so much to think about it.

Who would you chose and why? What would you do once you were them?

Yum Yum Cabbage Rolls

So I have been wanting to try cabbage rolls for quite a while now so, tonight it was on the menu! I can never make something according to the recipe though I always improvise or add something to make it so much yummier. This recipe is so delicious that even my picky kids loved it.

Here is what you are going to need:
12 cabbage leaves

filling:
1 cup cooked rice
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 small onion
1 lb ground beef
1 slice bacon
dash liquid smoke
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. pepper

sauce:
16 oz tomato sauce
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

boil cabbage leaves 2 mins and drain. In a bowl combine ingredients for filling. Then place 1/4 cup of filling into center of cabbage leaf, roll up, and tuck in ends. Place rolls in a baking dish and bake at 350 degree for 30 mins or until meat mixture is about done.

In a small bowl mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside while rolls cook. After 30 mins pour over rolls and cook another 15 mins. serve warm.

They are so yummy!

resolutions

I usually do not do new years resolutions. I started a challenge to write everyday and so thins day I have to do resolutions for the year. I have to write as many resolutions that I can think of and circle the three that mean the most to me. Then I am suppose to write the reasons these are the most important. Here goes:

I will lose 10 pounds this year. (lol who doesn't have this one?)
I will cart train my miniature horse Smarty Pants.
I will keep my garden alive this year.
I will weed my garden this year.
I will get my kids to help pick up the messes they make ( lol I hope this happens)

These are the ones that made the cut. Yes, I do realize there are more than three listed. These are the most important to me because lets face it I am over weight. I need to lose weight  and I will try my hardest. I really need to get smarty to do something, my hubby has a thing against keeping things we do not use including animals. To keep him he has to be cart trained or trained to ride, so either one will make me happy. I always kill my garden. I can keep my inside plants alive, but have never been able to keep my garden alive. I do not have a green thumb. Last but not least is getting my kids to help me clean up after themselves. I laugh every time I read that, heck I even giggled while I typed it. It is a dream of mine to get someone to help me clean.

I have a husband that sets his spit cans on the coffee table for the kids to spill on my carpet (love him so much!). my solution after repeated attempt to get him to through it away when he was done with it, I took the coffee table out of the house ad it has not returned. He has now resorted to placing it on the counter instead agh! My kids I can't even get to leave their clothes in the dresser, as soon as I put them in they are taken out and thrown on the floor. Any suggestions to help cure this? Movies, books, toys, and thing and everything on the floor. I fell like I can not clean enough, I can not every get anything done. Are there any kid trainers here? What are some things you have used to get your family to help you out?

I kind of got of track today, but that's alright. What are some of your resolutions and how do you plan on keeping them?

Happiness

What does happiness mean to you? Are you a naturally happy or unhappy person?

To me happiness is love, I feel happiness so much throughout every day. When I look at my children, when they give me hugs, when my husband comes home, and when I am around my animals. All these things make me happy and there is so much more I could list. I am a naturally happy person and I tend to see the beauty in everything and everyone. I am very easy to get along with and try to make others happy as well.

Some things that have made me feel happy over the years would be:
when my husband bought me my first horse Rezer I was so in love.

another time I was happy would be, when I got to hold my babies for the first time.

I really strive to make others happy, so I give without asking for anything in return. I gave a family that just moved to my area Christmas presents for their kids. No, I did not know them. I just wanted to make someone smile. I love to see others smile and be happy. I love it when I can make someone have a good day even if I get no credit. because to me that is not what happiness is about. I do not need credit to be happy, all I want is for another person to see the beauty in life and other people. 

Another example of happiness is my daughter, she is 6 years old now and in kindergarten. She is a naturally happy person also. She is always excited to go to school and always has a smile when she steps off the bus at home. I will never forget the day I packed her first cold lunch, she begged me for days to do it. Although she assured me the hot lunch was good to. After I got my ego in check for pretty much being told that she would rather have the food I make than the food the lunch ladies make, I packed her some leftovers. She thought it was the greatest thing and has wanted a cold lunch everyday since then. It makes me feel so wonderful to know that my daughter is happy with what she gets whether its hot or cold lunch, school or no school, shoveling poo or riding the pony. She is happy with life and I am happy that she is naturally happy!

A Filly for Laura

Hello, It has been a long time. I have been very busy this past year and forgot to keep up with my blog. I would like to announce that my book 'A Filly for Laura' is out and ready to be shared with the world.

you can purchase a signed copy on etsy 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/174418132/a-filly-for-laura?

In October of 2013 I opened a store front to go with my online store, The Pink Donkey Boutique. It was great but only lasted until December. I was having a hard time finding daycare and paying for it, it just did not work out. I have started making my own Jewelry. My line is called whispering winds designs, I also do photography which is called whispering winds photography. 

Both of my daughters were in cheer leading which was a ton of fun! They cheered a lot of games. 

The picture above is their last performance where they dressed up like they were in the 80's and were suppose to dance to girls just want to have fun, but they ended up just doing some cheers. It was still super cute. The picture below is my youngest, that is her face she makes when she is actually paying attention. I just love it!