Thanksgiving!

I realize I have been MIA for awhile... I do have a good excuse but I can't tell you until closer to Christmas. I had a project I was working on that was supposed to be done about 2 months ago but instead turned into a Christmas present. Let's just say I'm pretty proud of it though and can't wait to show it off. :) 

Since I have been gone for awhile I thought I would overload you with pictures from Thanksgiving. 

The tradition continued and we worked calves Thanksgiving morning. We didn't have as many helpers this year but it still went quick and was a lot of fun! I even helped wrestle more than one calf this year and let me tell you, my body informed me it needed to exercise before doing that again. ha

I can't remember what Emily is trying to tell us but we seem a bit amused. 

Ya know how I said I wrestled a few cows?? Well this was a big one and I did not participate in taking the big ones down. I just gave them there vaccine and ran away. This one tried to get me involved but I escaped.

 The action in these next two shots kinda cracks me up. 

Matching braids and I'm not sure about the faces. 

Survived another year.

Some of the crew.

We had our annual family hayride Saturday night. It was a bit chilly but just right for bundling up and sitting by the fire. 

The fire shooting stump was the highlight of the evening. 

Thanksgiving night my great uncle Don passed away so that put a damper on things but I was very thankful to spend time with my family and have a little break from school. 

Just What I Needed.

I had a pretty awesome weekend with these sweet girls. :)

The boys didn't allow there picture to be taken.

We had a blast playing Apple to Apples, watching Avengers, visiting a "haunted house" and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Couldn't have asked for a more relaxing weekend to distract me from school. 

And, I got to work the birthing center at the fair on Sunday! 

Now back to school. Yesterday, I was so engrossed in studying for my Clinical Pathology test that I literally didn't realize it had gotten dark outside. haha After tomorrow I can breathe again and maybe post a few more pictures. :) 

study break!

I have a little flower bed type thing in front of my house and I have been so anxious to plant flowers in it. Last week we (Julie and I) decided we had a few extra minutes and headed to Lowe's. They didn't hardly have anything! A few mums and what was left from the summer but we found a few things and decided to plant them and fill in when more flowers came out. (I had pansies in mind) When I was at Wal-mart yesterday I was so excited to find lots of flowers! :) So I went a little crazy and bought a few to many but it is just hard to beat 6 plants for $1.60! Of course then I locked myself out of my car so maybe it was a sign... since I never put things in my trunk but I put all these flowers in there and locked my keys in with them. ha Anyway, I digress.

Julie and I decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine while we had a few minutes. It was definitely a good break from all the studying that has been happening around here the past few days! 

 I had a few pots at home that were just left from previous bought plants, etc. We filled them up too! 

Yes, that is basil. It smells so good and I will move it in when it gets to cold. It was on sale so I couldn't pass it up. Also the yellowish/pinkish/reddish mums were only 75 cents each. They were about dead when we found them. But they have come back to life and have started this weird stripy thing. They were solid yellow when I got them. I really like what they are doing though. :) 

I think it makes it look so much better! Thanks for all your help Julie! It was way more fun than if I would have done it all by myself. Leslee actually helped us last week some too but she was in lab today. :)

a first.

The past week has been a little crazy to say the least. I had my first big test of the semester last Friday and then studied all weekend (yes, that includes Saturday night) for a big test on Monday and then started frantically studying for the test I took this morning. I think I can take a breather for a few minutes to catch up on daily life, but not for long. I have another round of stuff coming up in the next few weeks. I'm not complaining though. The weather has been awesome and my classes are so much more interesting this semester. 

Yesterday I did something that I have never done before. I locked my keys in my trunk. I have never, in my 7 years of driving, even come close to locking myself out. I'm kind of paranoid about it... 

As soon as the trunk shut, it hit me, my stomach dropped and my heart rate skyrocketed. ha What was I going to do?? Both sets of my house keys are in my car because I keep forgetting to put the spare somewhere else and so I had no way to get into my house to get the spare car key. I just ran in to Wal-mart after class so I just had my wallet not my whole purse. I didn't want to have to call someone to come unlock it because that was totally embarrassing but that is what I had to do. Well, first I called my mom. haha Thank goodness we have AAA! They had a tow truck there in about 30 min. It did take them a few extra minutes to get it unlocked though because the lock on my door is a little different. It is flat against the handle and you have to push it. I tried to tell them to just pop the trunk but they were sure they could get it. They ended up just popping the trunk. :) 

I got home about an hour later than I was hoping, but it really wasn't a big deal. 

I also went all day yesterday thinking it was Thursday! What a day! haha I think it was that Monday test. I don't know what teachers are thinking when the give tests on Monday. 

perception.

Fall is my favorite season, besides the part that I have to start school again. Every year I struggle with being happy where I am when the weather starts to change. I just want to be outside... riding horses, working on the farm, whatever. But instead I am stuck inside studying or sitting in class. Last year I really felt like I had a bad attitude about it and it didn't help my grades by any means. This year I am trying to take on a new perspective. Instead of longing to be outside, I open my windows or go outside and study. I seriously feel so much happier and motivated. I remind myself that in a few years I will be done with this, won't be going back to school during my favorite time of the year and instead will be out taking care of cows, doing what I love. Patience is not a virtue I am strong in but I really feel like being thankful for where I am today and what I am getting to do is helping. 

I truly am thankful for the opportunities that I have right now and I think this quote sums it up well. No matter what is going on in my life, if I start getting upset, I just remind myself that I really have nothing to be upset about. I give it to God, knowing he will take care of it and I move on. I just feel so much better about life. My stress level has definitely dropped and I am happy! (even if I am a little sick right now.)

P.S. I have my first Pharmacology test in the morning and I have surgery rounds in the clinics today. Say a little prayer for me. If I got a little light headed last week this week is going to be rough because I'm definitely not feeling so hot. I think that is the root of all the light headedness (is that a word??) this past few weeks.

nightmare.

The weather was perfect this weekend and I enjoyed every minute of it. (i.e. I did zero studying.)

Saturday afternoon I was laying out in the hammock enjoying the lovely weather. It was a little warm in the sun and a little cool in the shade so I got a light blanket, parked the hammock in the shade and decided to take a nap. The dogs were all laying under the hammock chewing on bones and it was just so peaceful out there. 

After about 30 minutes of being in a dead sleep, this sweet creature...

...decided he wanted to join me in the hammock. Well, his four inch legs just don't allow him to do that by himself, but they do allow him to catch the edge of the hammock and flip me out on the ground. 

I'm sure it would have been very funny to watch but I didn't think it was very funny at the time. 

Don't worry Gus is still living and I couldn't stay mad at him for very long. Who needs to take a nap anyway??

Happy Monday! 

Upgrade.

I have moved out of the barn and into a HOUSE! I love it! It's old but it really is pretty nice. I will be sharing more about my little house but I wanted to share a few photos for all my curious friends. :)

The bathroom. Look at that normal sized shower! I'm still looking for something to put on the wall on the right. 

I really love the mirror.

I even have a washer and dryer. Thank goodness since we are trying to conserve as much water as possible at home. 

Backdoor. I have a big back yard but I will share about that later. (when I get it mowed and fixed up a little. ha)

The living room/dining room. The rectangle of carpet was a little weird at first but I kind of like it now.

My bedroom. It's pretty small but it's so nice to have my bed in a different room than the refrigerator. 

I don't have a lot of storage space but there is PLENTY for me. The closets are kind of interesting because the one wall is at an angle.

(Soon this will be filled with plaid and flannel. I can not wait for fall. :))

Study room. I am really loving having this separate room just for school. I get so much more done! Stephen and Michelle donated the futon to me and I really love it. It is perfect for studying. And don't you love my t-shirt quilt?? There is nothing wrong with the cover on the futon I just thought it would be fun to display my awesome quilt. 

The kitchen. I have a gas stove! and so much space! I have already cooked more than I did in the barn all last year.

The dishwasher is tiny but it is just the right size for me.

Cooper likes it too! 

I'm still working on a few things but I will update as I get projects done. I have a few, fun, crafty projects planned with the girls. :) Overall, I really like the new place! 

Come visit me anytime! You can sleep on the futon and I might even make some cookies. :)

Dumb.

Wanna know something crazy??? I have done this to a cow before. This being a c-section. Up to my elbows in blood and cow guts. I have drawn all kinds of blood from horses, and given countless shots. But guess what??

Today, we placed catheters in latex dog limbs and I almost passed out. Ridiculous and embarrassing, I know. I'm fine until I have to stand there and listen to them talk about what I'm doing. So since this is so dumb I'm just going to post it here so you guys can know and I can just get it out there. I'm going to have to work on this... 

P.S. I was going to post pictures of my house today but I'm really sleepy now so I'm going to take a nap instead. ha

Applesauce Party.

We made applesauce this Labor day. It was over 100 degrees... applesauce is usually a fall thing but since spring was early everything seems to be early this year. We had quite the applesauce party last year but this year might have topped it. We had a lot of people over and we made a lot of applesauce. Some where around 56 quarts and 27 pints. I can't remember exactly, but it was a lot and we had a good time! 

The day started off with just a few of us. Christy and her mom DJ came over to join the fun!

My grandparents came over too.

Julie and Leslie came back this year to join the fun.

The horses don't know if they like it when we make applesauce or freeze corn better. They get such a treat on both days.

Gus prefers applesauce day. He's weird.

More people arrived around lunch time. Stephen, Michelle and Matthew decided to join the party!

It was nice to finally hang out with them for longer than a few minutes! Come back soon guys. :)

Our kitchen was full of applesauce...

...and so was the hutch in the dining room.

Even Cooper was tired out by the end of the day.

Now we are going to have to go visiting and deliver all this applesauce to everyone who helped! :)