Time Flies When You're Having Fun

     I can't believe it's been a month since my last post.  I've thought about it but never feel I have anything worth writing about.  It's been a busy month but only interesting to me probably.  Let's see, there was Halloween.  Kade went as a cowboy and Mattie was a kitty cat.

     These were last year's costumes as well, but hey, they still fit.  I like to get my money's worth out of something.  The cowboy outfit was actually my brother's when he was little.  Hopefully he'll have a son someday that can enjoy it too.  After Halloween it was birthday week.  Mattie turned 5 on the 7th and Kade turned 6 on the 10th.  So for a few days I had two 5 year olds.  We had a birthday party at school, a family one at the house, and a friend party.  Insane is what that was.  (Note to self if you are re-reading this next year: one party is plenty.  And really even reconsider the one.) 

     I do like for them to each have their own birthday cake so we had an angel food cake for Kade and the Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake for Mattie.  The kids each picked out their candles.  Kade's choice was interesting for a six year old.

    Both were delicious.  They got lots of fun presents including new four-wheelers courtesy of their Uncle Chuckie who is single with no kids and goes a little overboard spoiling his nieces and nephew.

     I spent four days in Kansas baling corn stalks with my brother and made it home right before Thanksgiving.  We ate too much of course.  Now it's time to put up the Christmas tree.  I can't believe the year's almost over.  I'll be back soon. I promise (fingers crossed). 

Before & After



     This is my dining room table and chairs.  I love, love this table.  If my house was on fire, you would find me hoofing it on my back trying to get it out the door.  I bought it at an antique mall in Weatherford 8 years ago when I got married.  The chairs are old mismatched chairs that belonged to various great grandmas in my family.  I painted them all white and covered the seats in a pretty shabby chic fabric.  But 8 years and 2 kids later, it was time for a redo.

     Why yes that is a giant kool-aid stain!  I took a couple days off work this week and got started.  I wanted to do this project without spending much money so first I rummaged through my mother's insane fabric collection.  I found some beautiful Amy Butler upholstery fabrics my mom was hoarding and decided to use two different ones (also she didn't have enough of any to do all eight chairs the same so I'll mix them up).  I used the two fabrics on the far right on top and bottom. 

    Next it was time to decide on paint.  I thought about a nice gray or maybe a funky green but in the end I went with a great aqua color.  I didn't want to drive to one of the big towns to get paint (2 hours there and back) so I went to the local hardward store 10 miles away.  I'm all for shopping locally when I can but I wouldn't recommend someone get paint there.  I was just impatient and didn't want to wait.  The dust on the paint chips was an inch thick.  I spent maybe 30 seconds picking a color.  I'm not one of those people that spend hours agonizing over paint choices.  Go with your first choice, whatever you were drawn to first.  And remember it's just paint.  I really wanted a high gloss but they didn't have any so I had to settle for semi-gloss.  So two days and two coats of paint later I have new chairs.

     My mom and dad came over and helped me recover the seats.  Then I sprayed them with a couple coats of Scotchguard.  I'm not sure why I didn't do that 8 years ago.  I probably wouldn't have had so many stains on them.  I think they look great.  I needed a change from the shabby chic look and am really loving the gaudiness of these. 

     They are loud and fun, just like my kids, which must be why they like them so much, too!

     And one last after picture:

     Total time on project: about 3 days

     Total cost: about $12 for paint

     Not too bad for 8 chairs. 

*A little disclaimer--I take almost all of my pictures with my phone.  I do own a camera but I really suck at taking pictures with it and then having to connect it to my computer, blah, blah, blah.  I rarely do that.  Also I have absolutely zero interest in taking good pictures.  In theory I would like to own one of those giant ass cameras with lots of lenses and take amazing pictures of my kids, the landscape, wild animals, Saturn or whatever people take pictures of. But in reality even if someone gave me one, I wouldn't use it.  It doesn't interest me in the least.  So I apologize to all of you who look at my pictures and think I take really terrible pictures.  I know I do.  I don't care. 

Have a great weekend!

Is It Friday Yet?

     Thought I should probably post something new but man is my life pretty mundane.  I feel like I need something really insightful or thought provoking to say or else what's the point.  At the least I need a funny story to tell.  I have none of those today but I'm here anyway.  The kids had a field trip to P Bar Farm in Hydro on Tuesday.  They picked pumpkins, saw some animals, and went through the corn maze.  It was pretty chilly that day.  I froze my pumpkins off.  They had fun though. 

     Tomorrow I'm off to the city with my mom and a good friend to go to the Affair of the Heart, a great weekend craft show.  Every year we go stay the night in a hotel and shop (ususally just walk) 'til we drop.  Some years we fill the car and other times buy nothing but a few snacks.  It's just fun to get away with no kids and have a good time.  I'll try and take pictures if I see something really cool.

     Today at the quick stop one of my vendors came in to make our order for the week for his brand of pop.  He was wearing a letter jacket.  Now before you start thinking it was some kind of cool vintage letter jacket, let me assure you it wasn't.  It was new and had one patch that said something about 2011 basketball.  First of all, really?  One patch?  Second, do you know how hard it is for me to take you seriously when you're wearing a letter jacket that indicates you just graduated in May of this year?  I feel like I'm a hundred years old now.  Thanks. 

Have a great weekend!
Cara

Crap, You Mean People Are Going to Read This?

     Well I wrote a couple of posts and felt pretty good about it.  Probably because I hadn't told anyone about this so I knew no one would actually read them.  (Although I was kind of disappointed when I would look at my stats and see no one had visited my blog.  Not sure what I was expecting because that was the whole point in my keeping quiet about it.  Kind of the way I am always disappointed when I see the UPS man coming through the door at work and he doesn't have a box for me.  Even though I never order anything, I guess I just expect some kind of magical fairy to send me gifts.)  I did finally tell my sister-in-law, Kasse, that I had indeed posted something.  And I see I have two followers.  Sweet!  They're both family but that totally counts. 

     I thought I would just write a little something about what Rural Women Rocks means to me.  It means we kick ass at lots of things.  Rural women can do it all.  We raise our kids, cook, clean, and love all while working a full time job.  We coach little league teams and raise money for this cause or that one.  We drive tractors, build fence, or work cattle because it has to be done.  Granted some days I feel more successful than others but in general I feel like I can do anything.  My mom always said that if you want something done you ask a busy person to do it.  Somehow it will get done.  We all know those people that have like maybe one or two things on their to do list and bitch and moan about how will they ever get it done.  Um, suck it up and do it. 

     I joined Rural Women Rocks mainly because of my sister-in-law, Kasse.  She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most genuine people I know.  She doesn't speak ill of others.  Whenever I'm around her I feel at peace.  I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not.  I know she isn't going to badmouth me as soon as I leave and you really can't say that about a lot of women.  She has one of the most welcoming homes I've ever been in.  It just kind of embraces you, just like she does.  I don't know where this road will lead with her new venture but I knew I had to be on board.  So jump in and let's go.

My Life Through My Phone

     I was looking through pictures I've taken this summer on my phone and thought I would share.  They give a little glimpse into my life and some of the key people in it.  Notice I said "some" because there are a few missing. 

     A little family background first:  I'm a middle child.  I have an older sister and a younger brother.  My parents are still married and just celebrated their 39 year wedding anniversary.  I'm married and have two delightfully fun children who are just 3 days short of one year apart.  So for 3 whole days they get to be the same age every year.  Can you say white trash?  I have like 9 nieces and nephews, give or take one or two.  Too many to count right this second.  Oh and one more on the way, via my sister!  My husband and I live within 20 miles of 30 immediate family members.  It's a good thing we get along most of the time!

     This summer I helped my brother with his swathing and baling business.  It gave me a welcome break from the monotony of quick stop ownership and I really enjoy helping him.  I can swath and rake with the best of them.  Baling is a little iffy.  Not my forte.  We spent most of the summer in eastern OK and my son came along to help most of the time.  He even drove the tractor alone across the field.  It was a highlight of his life so far.

    We put up a buttload of hay this summer.  Speaking of my brother, here's a picture of him.  He's trying to grow a mustache/beard.  We keep telling him he looks like a child molester.

 In his mind though, it looks like this:

Yeah, in a few more days I think he'll have it.

My dad also works for my brother year round.  We have a lot of fun together.  My dad met his long lost twin brother on a family vacation to Montana this summer.

Here's my handsome father:

 And here's his long lost brother: 

Not really, but we all had a good laugh.

My husband comes from a long line of ranchers.  But a few years ago, he took the plunge and joined me at the quick stop.  So now we work together every day, all day.  I never would have thought we could work together but it actually works really well.  I can't imagine being in this business without him there with me. 

My own Mario Andretti

Let's see, what else?  My kids.  They are 4 and 5 and have been the bestest of friends since birth. 

I hope they always will be.

I guess that's enough for now.  I can't find any pictures of me so I'll leave you with this one:
This is my uncle with his original Yellowstone bus.  Isn't it awesome?

What?  Isn't that how everyone gets around?

Stepping Out

     Well, here goes nothing.  After some prodding from my sister-in-law at ruralwomenrock.blogspot.com, I did it.  I started a blog.  That has to be one of the most obnoxious words ever invented.  Blog.  Blog.  It sounds like you're about to lose your lunch.  This puts me way outside of my comfort zone, which is one reason I agreed to do this.  I hate to write.  I always have.  I've never liked for anyone to read what I wrote.  But I'm going to be 30 in a few months and wanted to try something new.  I've read other peoples' blogs for years and have some that almost feel like family even though I've never met them or even commented on their posts.  You get invested in other people's lives.  You cry when they have lost a child or feel genuine happiness for them when something great happens to them. 
    
     I'm not sure what will come of this mess of words.  Some days might be funny stories from my quick stop or my latest find at the town dump.  There will probably be before and after pictures of some of the many, many projects I have in the works.  I'll probably bore you with pictures of my kids and the hilarious-to-me things that they say.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.