walk the walk

Today I passed by a cowboy while walking outside on my lunch break, and he is the inspiration for this posting!

I could see him coming from about 20 feet or so, dressed in his entire cowboy getup. I'll explain in detail so you get the whole picture. He had on the traditional wrangler jeans with knee high cowboy boots, pant legs tucked in for the dramatic appeal. His scotch cap was black and he wore it with pride, as he also did with his carmel brown pendleton vest. It wasn't just the clothes he wore, but also the swagger he displayed as he walked towards me in my fancy shoes that made neat clicking sounds as I walked. I doubt he would have said a word as he passed by, but I said Hello, just to be friendly and also to lower his confidence, by showing my own. I had to giggle as I turned around and watched him walk, so full of himself and so fitting that he would be climbing into a huge pickup truck. He completely embodied the cowboy walk, talk, attitude and he was proud of it. Incase you're wondering, I'm not talking about Jed, although the resemblance was quite scary.

I giggled not because of him or anything he did, rather because of the way we accept our cowboys in this country and their ablility to rationalize their wardrobe choices as purely work related and practical. I giggle because it's funny how a woman would buy a fancy outfit and shoes, but feels absolutely no need to rationalize her clothing choice, by explaining how the v-neck makes her neck look longer or the fitted seams make her look slimmer, or the straight leg makes her legs appear longer. We just buy it, wear it and know we look good! Men on the other hand have to explain their purchases. They need knee high leather boots to protect their legs when riding or walking in tall grass, the need the scotch cap to protect their ears from the cold. They need muck boots for when it's wet and cold, but not too cold, when it's too cold then they need pack boots because they have a riding heel, but are extremely warm as well. Then in the summer they need a more breathable sole on their boot so their feet don't get too warm, but not too breathable or its too light weight and won't last. That's just their boots! LONG LIVE COWBOYS!

just let me be sad

Well the dreaded Monday has arrived and the whirlwind of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are now behind us. I say whirlwind, only because that is what the weather decided to do...blowing snow for nearly 3 days. We were able to spend a family filled, fun day with the Seim crew on Christmas Eve and the traditional evening at Grandma Bonnie's. Jayda whipped through her gifts and FINALLY got her coveted "Swimmer puppy." And yesterday we finally got the batteries that will make it work! Who puts triple A batteries in toys anyway?? Paisley did pretty well also and handled all the strange faces for the most part. She didn't get much sleep in, must have been anxious for Santa!

Unfortunately the weather decided it would change our plans and made it impossible for us to travel to Rapid/Hermosa. I tried not to be a baby about the whole thing and make the best of it. But I just couldn't keep it all together without being overcome by sadness. Even with all I have to be thankful for, Christmas just isn't the same without family. It was nice to have a low key day of doing nothing and watch Jayda play with her new toys. She was probably the least phased by the change of plans, although she did say a few times she wanted to see Wyatt, Sydney, Cooper and everyone else. We watched a lot of movies and ate yucky, non Christmas foods. Played a few card games and did a lot of sleeping! My body was probably thankful for a few days of rest, but my spirit had other ideas in mind. The most frustrating part wasn't the snow, the wind or the road conditions, but the lack of understanding I recieved. It's like sometimes people don't even try to put themselves in your shoes and TRY to understand how disappointing it might be for you. They instead get angry at you for being sad. What is so wrong with feeling emotion? It was uncontrollable and I just wanted a moment to deal with the sadness I was feeling, before I had to move on to getting on with the day. Yes, I understand it was too dangerous to travel, YES, I understand the livestock needs to be taken care of, YES I GET IT. Getting IT, doesn't make it any easier though and doesn't take away the way a person feels.

Anyhow, we did get to spend a very short half of a day in Rapid on Sunday and managed to see Mark before he flew back to Colorado. We got to eat my mom's peanut brittle and the world's best toffee. I suppose someday I should learn how to make it, but for now I'm good with counting on her to provide it for us! If I could get her to make pickles again, I'd have no complaints. We left after supper, did the lovely Walmart dash and were back on the road for home. Thankfully the roads were as clear as could be, and no deer were sacrificed. I was able to deliver the family calendar and my babies got to see the rest of their family, if only just for a few hours.

Deans list

Recently saw my grades were finally posted and I ended up with 3 A's and 1 B and made the Dean's list with a 3.7 GPA for the semester! Not bad for this momma!

I'm watching the snow come down during my break, and wondering what the weather and roads will be like for Christmas Day. Hoping we'll be able to safely get to Hermosa on Friday. So far the roads have been ok, but the wind hasn't picked up yet either. That tends to make all the difference.

I've made it through most of my work week and I'm still kickin! Last night I was extremely tired when I got home and really needed to just go to bed. Jayda has began asking for cuddle time, so each night when I get home we go to my room and snuggle in my bed for about a half hour. She watches TV and I try to snooze, or at least close my eyes and rest for a bit. Last night she said, "I love cuddling with you, can we do this every night when you get home?" It's truely about the only time that girl isn't bouncing off the walls with energy, so I thoroughly enjoy our quiet time.
I'm looking forward to the end of the week and the weekend ahead. Lots of sitting around with family, doing nothing, but loving every minute of it!

Weight Lifted

I'm 3 days post-op and I'm actually feeling better than I ever expected. Day 1 and 2 were a little rough, but not unbearable. I've been cutting down on the pain killers and seem to be doing well. This whole experience is just so mind boggling to even begin to believe it's actually real and over with. Forever changed. I'm definitly happy thus far with the results and think things will just get better.

I was so thankful to be able to stay at my parent's house the first night. Home hasn't felt so good in a long time. It was a very comforting place to be and my parents helped tremendously with every thing we needed. Being home this close to Christmas and just being able to hang out, without worrying about all the little errands I needed to run, was very theraputic. I don't think I've had a weekend of truely doing nothing for so long, it was actually a nice forced break!

Christmas is now just around the corner and everyone is getting anxious, including myself! Just a wonderfully, happy time of year and so nice to spend quality time with family we don't see nearly enough. Only 3.5 days of work separating us from the celebration of Jesus! God bless and thank you to my whole family for your love and support, now and always.

one down, one to go

Last night I was able to take my last final of the semester! So so so excited to have another semester under my belt with just ONE more to go! Still can't believe I'm actually going to finish this school stuff in just five months. I haven't received my offical grades of the semester, but from my calculations I did pretty well. The major field test that is an exit exam was graded today (2 hour test) and I got a B without studying one second! It is supposed to measure how much you have retained from all your business courses. With little spare time to devote to studying, I decided I was just going to wing it and see what happened. Thankfully it worked out in my favor! I knew even if I got a zero on it, I would still have a B in the class, and I'm ok with that! Now I have a month off to snuggle Paisley instead of sitting in front of a computer, or play games with Jayda after supper. Or just sit on the couch and watch TV, guilt free!

Had a nice quiet weekend home this past week. Finally was able to take some pictures of Jayda and Paisley in front of the tree. Haven't gotten any prints ordered however. These next two weeks will start to get chaotic as of tomorrow evening. If we could fast forward right on to Christmas, I'd be ok with that.

Say a few extra prayers for us on Thursday!

2009

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weight lifted

Miss Paisley J seems to have found her voice and I'm afraid I will now have TWO noisy girls in my house! Paisley discovered all the funny noises she can make and she's quite the talker. It's pretty funny to listen to her screams and quacks when she gets going. When she wakes up in the mornings, she doesn't cry anymore, she just starts squawking and yelling. It's really quite comical to listen to her developing her vocal cords! She is getting to be a big girl and growing out of clothes by the week. She isn't sitting up or rolling over yet. I think she may be close to sitting up soon, but isn't interested in rolling over at all. She is scooting herself around a little when she's laying on the floor. She is always sideways in her crib when I get her out. She just hit the 4 month mark yesterday! With this cold weather we've had, I sure hate taking her outside at all. On the days she stays home with Jed, she does get to go feed cows with him. He says she enjoys it! Sure hope so!

I gave up on trying to grow Jayda's bangs out. I'm too impatient and it just takes too dang long. It's a pet pieve of mine when kids have hair in their face, so naturally it was stressing me out more than need be. She was getting annoyed with me always trying to fix her hair and re-do it when need be. She finally gave me the ok to cut them, and we were both happy to see her beautiful blue eyes again. We came to an agreement that we would continue to grow the rest of her hair, as long as she wanted to, but we're keeping the bangs!

We had an excellent weekend last week, in Rapid. I got all of my Christmas shopping done in a whirlwind of 2 days! I have one final test and one paper to write and I'll be done with this semester. So ready for a break from that schedule!

I'm just a week away from my much anticipated surgery date. I thought I'd be more nervous and scared than I am, but I'm really at peace with the whole thought of it. I'm mainly looking forward to the results so much, that I am past the fear of recovery. I know how ever bad it is, I will make it through it, and eventually it will pass. Christmas is sneaking right up on us too. I'm getting excited to see Jayda's expressions as she opens her gifts, especially the swimming puppy she has been coveting.

No pictures this time, I'm hoping to get some taken this weekend of the girls in front of our tree. We'll see if that happens!

Restart

So I probably could have started out my December posts on a more positive note than I did with my first post but somedays are more trying that others. One more month and hopefully things will get easier, at least roomier and quieter in our small space.

Moving on..snow is falling outside and I finally had to break out a coat. Not bad, considering it is December. Finished up 2 classes last night and I have 2 remaining to write a paper in and take a couple of tests. Looking forward to a month off from school, as always! Also finished up the yearly calendar, that I had previously decided not to do this year. Guess I just don't like to disappoint anyone, and no one else was jumping up and down to take over on the project.

It appears Jayda has found another suitor to be her groom. She went to a cow sale with Jed and found a cowboy that fit the part. She helped me get our Christmas tree set up on Sunday. She actually was a really good helper and decorated it rather good. I only had to move a few decorations when she took her nap! Now she keeps asking me if today is Christmas...could be a long month. She also wants to open her presents and everyone else's, but who can blame her for that! Jed finally got a much needed hair cut, both Jayda and I were happy to see his smaller head come home last night! She told him he looked nice, and I agreed. ..much much better.

Paisley seems to be going through a growing phase and is still sleeping a lot. She's just my happy little baby, that eats, sleeps, poops and smiles! Couldn't get any easier than that gal!

just shut up

Wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the advantages of working in an office with someONE who continuously talks to themselves out loud....

1.