My Valentine

I shall forewarn that this post is about mushy, lovey, Valentine's day feelings. If you can not digest it, then you might want to skip on until the next couple of weeks when I shall post again.

My valentine drives this truck. It makes him kind of hunkey. Hunkie? Hunk-e? Hunki? Hunkee?  Is hunkey even a word? If not, then this post is going downhill fast.

This is my other Valentine. It makes him a cutie, fluffy, 'lil buddy.

Farmboy is a man of very few words, and those very few words that he chooses to grace my ears with are usually not said in the most appropriate ways. Let's take Valentine's Day.
Thursday night:

      Farmboy: I've got a surprise for you tomorrow night.

 

      Me: Oh ya?

     Farmboy: Yep and I'm not letting you know nothing.

    Me: Where are we going?

   Farmboy: Springfield, but that's it.

Friday:

   Farmboy's Sister: Did Adam tell you where you are going?

  Me: Nope.

  Farmboy's Sister: He told me and I'm pretty impressed

  Me: Oh really??? Am I getting new boots?

     ( I really want a new pair of Cowboy boots)

 Farmboy's Sister: No, but you will like it.

Friday Night:

  Scene: Farmboy is at home and waiting for me for me to get home which happens......like never!

  Farmboy: About time you got home

 Me: I'm hurrying, what should I wear?

    

 Farmboy: Whatever

    (Alex,  I will take useless answers for 200 hundred please. Thanks)

Me: OK, I will be right out.

We leave our place in the woods and start our venture to the metropolis of Springfield. On the way I start asking questions.

Me: Give me a hint.

Farmboy: It starts at 8:00

Me: OK, where are we eating supper?

Farmboy: Fazilios', but I still have to find the place.

Me: You dont' know where it is at?

Farmboy: Yes.

Me: Is it at the Juanita K Hammonds.

Farmboy: Yes

Me: Is is Beauty and the Beast?????

Farmboy: Yes

And I was blown away with amazement that I actually asked Farmboy of something 6 months ago and he remembered and he bought tickets and he quit work early all for me! His Valentine. He REALLY does love me!! We then ate at McDonald's because it took longer get to the city than anticipated and took our seats in the mezzanine, which I believe is the theater lingo for nose-bleed seats.

We were quite a ways up there. We settled in our seats and the man of few words speaks

Me: How did you remember that I wanted to see this?

Farmboy: Well actually last night I stumbled across it on the Internet and remembered you said something about it.

Yep, that's my Valentine. But the show was amazing and I loved every minute of it. The lights, the orchestra, the props. Everything looked so real.

I am hooked! I want to go see another show, and another, and another. I hope Farmboy keeps running across whatever it was he saw that triggered the part in his brain that says "this will make my wife happy"

On Monday, the pressure was on for me. I wanted to do something equally as impressive as Beauty and the Beast and as the old saying goes "You get a man thru his stomach" rings true in our house.

Me: What do you want for Valentine' day? I will cook you anything you want.

Farmboy: Meatloaf

Me: Really?? Meatloaf you don't want steak, or anything else?

Farmboy: Nope, Meatloaf.

So that is what we had. Meatloaf, rolls with honey butter, corn, cesar salad, and homemade chocolate sheet cake with strawberries. I personally believe it was the best meal I have ever ate. I did hear the words that every wife wants to hear "This is almost as good as mom's". (SCORE!) We ate on my good dishes that has only seen the outside of the hutch twice since we have been married.

I told Farmboy that we are eating at 6:45 sharp and I wanted him cleaned up and free from the smell of manure, oil, fuel and wet dog. So he pulls in right after me from work and I was so excited until....

Farmboy: I have to run to town and get a part.

Me: What?

Farmboy: It will only take a minute and I have to get it, I promise I will be home in time for supper.

Me: And cleaned up?

Farmboy: Yes and cleaned up.

I had my doubts but he disappeared before I could object much more and I went to work getting supper on the table. He stayed true and was home and showered in time for supper and he even brought his "part" to the table.

He drove all the way to town just to get me chocolate-covered strawberries!!

Me: What is this?!?! You didn't have to do that.

Farmboy: You said you wanted some, so I got you some. I was going to get you eight, four of each but that was going to be like $25 in strawberries and that is ridiculous.

Oh! I almost forgot! One last Valentine's Day conversation for you.

Me: I got a beautiful bouquet of pink roses and you even signed the card!

Farmboy: Yea, when I got your birthday flowers (back in January) I asked if I could go ahead and sign a Valentine's Day card so I wouldn't have to worry about it. They had to go and find one, they hadn't even got them out yet!

And ladies and gentleman that is my valentine. I never have to worry about what he is thinking, I never have to worry where I stand with him and I wouldn't have it any other way. *sigh* He is all mine....

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MVP

Our family had our annual Superbowl Party at my sister and brother-in-law's Sunday Night and while there was the biggest football game of the year on the TV, our family had a little competition of our own. This is the 4th year having it and as much of a surprise as it may be the competition has to do with food. Shocking, I know! Now my family can be pretty critical, the key is to stick the basic food groups: meat and potatoes. Anything beyond that is foreign and will not be tolerated. Oh, they may eat it, but they will not like it and WILL NOT let you live it down. Now I am known for bringing such foreign foods to an otherwise tradition family. 

An example:  Thanksgiving one year I was asked to bring dessert (my one and only time) and I made a Luscious Four Layer Pumpkin Cake (that was the title, I am not making it up). Once I had it done and mastered all four layers with frosting with none of the layers falling off I thought I was something! I brought it to my family's house expecting to be bragged on and to be called Martha Stewart. Instead I got "Whatever happened to plain ole pumpkin pie" and other teasing and taunting until I was crying. I still to this day get teased about my Luscious Four Layer Pumpkin Cake. So you can imagine when it comes to the Superbowl Cook Off I usually just stay away from whatever is getting made and count my losses. My role is usually to make something girlie for the woman to eat while the men feast on meat. So the last several years the men have competed with Chili and I have made Potato Soup and Ham & Corn Chowder. But this year, I was competing. The theme was Mexican and I was up to the challenge.

Being the youngest in the family you already have to be competitive before you are even out of the womb. In my family I am the youngest of four and between my sister (who is the oldest) and myself there is a 10 year age gap. So growing up I was always wanting attention and was pretty good about getting it. I am a total daddy's girl, and a bit spoiled which in turn makes me high maintenance. I know, another shocker! But I like to believe it came from years of trying to get the attention of my older siblings who wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. As I said, my sister (who is one of my very best friends now) was already practically a teenager when I was born, and my two brothers were each others best friends. None of them wanted babysit me, play with me, or even be in the same room with me. So where does that leave the youngest, "the surprise", "the accident" or as I like to say, "the gift"? It left me being a brat growing up and telling on my brother when he tried to hang me from the tree or shoot me in the back with a BB Gun or wanting to be in my sisters room when she had friends over. Which in turn made my siblings tell me during  my whole childhood that I was a gypsy baby, that a band of them came through town and dropped me off in the ditch and mom and dad feeling sorry for me took me in. And I believed them! I was crushed and cried once again and ran in and told mom and they got in trouble, see? I was a total brat. 

But fast forward about 20 years and here we are at Superbowl 2011 and the theme is Mexican. Scott had found a recipe for a cheese dip and super excited to make it so I zoned in on that and made a Chicken Enchilada Dip to enter in on the competition. Scott in turn told me that his dip was most defiantly going to win and that chicken should be banned. The big day arrives and we are arriving late (as we always do) and as we are hurrying out to their house I get a text message from Scott asking if I was bringing chips because he had forgot his at home. A grin comes across my face and I know that he is going down. We show up and the Cook Off starts. The contenders: Sis with Tacos and Bean Burritos, Shawn with Little Smokies, Scott with his cheese dip and myself with Chicken Enchilada Dip. The points are tallied and the winner is: 

ME!!!!!!!! I get the trophy for the next year and bragging rights. Scott on the other hand said it was because we were late and his dip cooked too long and that is why he lost. I just say he is sore loser.

Here are some other candid shots from Superbowl 2011:

The two grumps upfront were upset because I interrupted their game to snap a picture. The women in the back would be known for the rest of the night as "a bunch of cackling women" that the guys can't hear the game over. 

I think they had just watched a funny commercial or something. Either way it is a very nice picture of the loser and my dad :)

And a bunch of cackling woman.

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My little nook

This is it!!! Several months ago I started transferring my scrapbook room from the shop to the house. I had a little help from Farm Boy as he was shoving me out the shop. I had taken up too much space in the shop and he had grander ideas of what to do with my room than to have it full of scrapbook stuff. So along with that and a case of mildew that took over the shop, I now have my scrapbook room in my house and for the most part it is complete and I am sooooo excited!!! Roscoe wanted to help with the tour.
 

First of all is my cutting table. I have my Cricut machine and my Sizzix machine. Both of which cut die cuts out of paper.

I then have my bookcase which is broke down into several sections. The top shelf has my magazines and idea books.

The middle section has all my scrap paper organized by color, or course.

I then have my stickers. The horizontal holders with drawers hold my title stickers and rub on stickers.  The yellow holder on the right has all my letter stickers in it. The two square holders on the bottom hold paper and stickers organized by themes, such as: Home, Boy, Girl, Holidays, Seasons, and etc.

Next comes all my paper. I have it organized by patterned vs plain and then by color.

Are you impressed yet?

I then have a cabinet next to me at my table that holds my glue, and stuff I need often.Down in the bottom in the purple holder is all my punches and cutters.

On top of that cabinet is where the very most important tool of scrapbooking. A dictionary. This girl can not spell and has had to look up words on numerous occasions. Oh and I guess pens to write those words down.

The last cabinet is located across from my table. This is my "project" cabinet. It holds pictures and memorabilia so then I can organize the pictures and memorabilia and make a scrapbook out of it.

And not last but least another very special spot in my scrapbook room. A space for Little Buddy. That way we can hang out together while I am scrapping and he is sleeping.

So that is it!  A work in progress, I still need to hang up pictures and do a few last minute details but I am very proud of it and have a lot of scrapping to do!

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Blizzard in the Woods

We had a little snow storm yesterday

Just a little one

So I did what a devoted wife of a farmer does.... I went feeding with Farm Boy to spend some quality time with him.

My Chariot awaits....So away we went

These ladies were happy to see us.

I for one was happy to be inside the cab of the truck as oppose to the cattle who were huddled together under trees and had snow and ice stuck in their hair and were moving rather slow against the wind.

Yum, yum, yum is what they were saying.

We could not believe the elements that we were surrounded in. Farm Boy keep taking a tape measure out and measuring the snow and it was starting to pile up...5 inches, 6 inches and on and on.

This is one field that on a normal day you can see completely across it to the other side where it is wooded. Today you couldn't even see half way across it.

We interrupt this snow day to bring you a very important phone call.

Not really but he did spend a lot of the day on his phone checking with his buddies in other various towns wanting to know what the snow status was with them. We soon came up with a prototype for a show called Farm Men. It would be along the lines of Ax Men with a twist of Ice Road Truckers involved. The show would be split between our town, Farm Boy's buddy that lives in a neighboring town and the third buddy that lives in a neighboring state. They could calculate how many head of cattle is fed in a day and the problems and trials that they run into on a daily basis. It could be a hit!! If anyone is a TV producer out there and is interested give me a call, my ultimate goal is to make Farm Boy the money maker so I can stay at home and cook and take pictures. Just a thought.

Back to the blizzard in the woods....

This is one of Missouri's major highways, usually within hours of the first drop of snow it is clear, but as you can tell it was not even touched as of 11:00 in the morning.

Soon after, Farm Boy dropped me off at home so I could get started on lunch and I took pictures of what was happening out my doors and windows.

This was out my kitchen window.

This was out my front door.

And out my back door.

Do you see little buddy staring at my out the door. Now you all know I love that little fluff with all my heart but the last couple of days has been very trying. When the snow is as deep as the fluff it is difficult for him to take care of *ahem* business. He searches forever looking for the spots that he has used  for the last several months not realizing that they are covered up by a foot of snow so he searches and searches and I get more and more impatient, while he gets colder and colder and then sits in the snow and whines because he is cold and does not come to the house so then I have to walk out in the snow and get him and carry him back to the house for him to only THEN sit by the back door and we start the process all over again!!!

Having a earth home is great for so many reasons, one reason it is not good is when the snow is half as high as your house. The drifts create problems getting out of your house rather it be thru the doors or even out of garage.

One of the many things I do love about snow is getting a bowl of snow and making snow-cream with it and that is what I did after supper, Farm Boy had never had it before.

You take your bowl of snow

Add some evaporated milk and sugar

and viola, snow-cream!

Everyone loved it.

So don't worry about us in the woods, as you can see I have my own plower and I am sure I will make it out soon.

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