Project 365 - April 23-29

Tuesday, April 23 - Plugged in my new external harddrive and began the very long process of backing up the computer.
Wednesday, April 24 - My last day as a stay-at-home-artist, I worked on my Arabian stallion drawing. I am now working a second 20-hour a week job in addition to my 15-hour a week job, so my time of working on my art every day has come to an end.
Thursday, April 25 - After the first day at my new job and the varying stresses that brings, it was nice to  watch the antics of my dog. Here she is trying to get me to rub her belly.
Friday, April 26 - Our t-shirts for summer reading program came in - I love the design!
Saturday, April 27 - End of April, and I'm very happy to FINALLY be able to wear sandals!
Sunday, April 28 - With the weather finally warming up and all that snow melting, everything is a bit muddy, and I got in a little deep as evidenced by my work boots.
Monday, April 29 - The new (to us) tractor and planter that are being prepped for planting. Going to get busy around here!

Project 365 - April 2-8

Tuesday, April 2 - My husband playing Mahjong Dimensions, a new game we've discovered and become completely addicted to.
Wednesday, April 3 - My husband took his new gun out shooting for the first time.
Thursday, April 4 - A beautiful sunset on the way home from a summer reading program kickoff and teen summit.
Friday, April 5 - My husband's niece had a leading role in a high school musical. I'm not a musical or rag music fan, but the kids put in a lot of work.
Saturday, April 6 - First blades of green grass!
Sunday, April 7 - My husband fell asleep on the couch watching The Hunger Games on Netflix.
Monday, April 8 - The records I'm keeping as the calves arrive.

Project 365 - March 26 - April 1

Tuesday, March 26 - I got an  incredible deal on a subscription to Taste of Home and got my first issue today. Love this magazine!
Wednesday, March 27 - Working on my Arabian stallion drawing.
Thursday, March 28 - Working at the library.
Friday, March 29 - Our cow/calf pairs got moved to a new, bigger pen, and the calves had a great time running around. Here's little Miracle at two weeks old, looking happy and healthy after her rough start in life.
Saturday, March 30 - My sister's dog, Beau, waiting patiently while we play a board game.
Sunday, March 31 - So I didn't take this photo, but I took all the other family Easter photos. Here's my husband and I - wish I remembered what I'm laughing about.
Monday, April 1 - Catching up on watching Survivor - hadn't had a chance to watch last week's episode until tonight.

Project 365 - March 12-18

Tuesday, March 12 - In bed, just before falling asleep, I remembered that I hadn't taken a photo today, so this is what you get. By the way, I hadn't set the clocks ahead yet, so it was actually 11:45, way too late to go around photo op hunting!
Wednesday, March 13 - Boot shopping with my mom and little sister.
Thursday, March 14 - Started wearing my pedometer again and got in 10,831 steps today! My previous job, I sat at a desk and was lucky to get 1200 by 5:00. Now, working at the library, I average 800-1,000 steps each hour!
Friday, March 15 - Some good produce deals at the grocery store - look at all that wonderful fruit. Fresh pineapple is an extra special treat for me!
Saturday, March 16 - Pieper usually lays by the door or on her blanket in the living room, but after working in my studio, I headed downstairs and saw her lying at the bottom. I liked how she was framed by the stairway. (Forgive the yucky steps - we're waiting on new carpet.)
Sunday, March 17 - A calf born yesterday that had a lot of trouble arriving. She got stuck at both the shoulders and the hips and took over an hour to be born. She couldn't get up, and it was bitter cold, so I made a fleece jacket for her.
Monday, March 18 - This is what Pieper typically looks like while we're trying to put our boots on - right in our faces. This time, she even came under the table trying to get in my lap. Such a cutie!

Project 365 - March 5-11

Tuesday, March 5 - The little Black Hereford heifer born yesterday. She's such a cutie!
Wednesday, March 6 - Our second calf, a red bull. He's having a hard time keeping up with his very active sister even though she's only a day older than him.
Thursday, March 7 - Girls' night out and working on scrapbooks together.
Friday, March 8 - Playing Settlers of Catan with my family. If you haven't ever played this, I highly recommend it. It's our all-time favorite game!
Saturday, March 9 - Sleet storm. My poor doggie after helping us with chores. She was completely frosted.
Sunday, March 10 - The current state of my studio workspace - lesson books, reference photos, my iPod, my current drawing, a binder of art prints, and the model horse I've been sketching from.
Monday, March 11 - I cleaned off my vanity top - look how nice it looks! Our bedroom is decorated with our wedding stuff. On the vanity is my bouquet, a few photos, our cake topper (a ranch sign with our name and date and mini hay bales and cowboy hats underneath - my mom made it, and I love it), our toasting glasses, and on top (which you can't see) one of our centerpieces.

Project 365 - February 5-11

Tuesday, Feb. 5 - I found a gently used iPod 3rd generation Nano for sale! I've been wanting an iPod for years, and I'm so excited to finally have one.
Wednesday, Feb. 6 - On our way to the sale barn to sell a couple fat steers and some of the smaller calves that couldn't keep up with the bigger calves.
Thursday, Feb. 7 - Baking bread. My recipe makes three loaves, so I had two extras to give to my two friends that I went out with later that night.
Friday, Feb. 8 - Working on my Sketchbook Sunday blog post.
Saturday, Feb. 9 - The beginning of a blizzard that shut down the whole area for a day and a half. They were huge snow pellets - that's the only way I can describe them. They looked like hail but were spongy like snowballs. Never seen them before.
Sunday, Feb. 10 - Our Border Collie, Pieper, begging to be let back in the house while licking snowflakes off her nose. She really does love the snow once she gets out into it, but being put out of the warm house into this was a bit of a shock.
Monday, Feb. 11 - The blizzard finally ended with 7-8 inches of new snow.

Project 365 - January 29-February 4

Tuesday, Jan. 29 - A kitchen flop. I've made this recipe for cowboy cookies many times, but for some reason, they just didn't turn out well this time. At least they still tasted good.
Wednesday, Jan. 30 - I brought home two books from the library that I'm very excited about. One is about cooking meals to stock in the freezer and the other is the sequel to Divergent, the book voted #1 on the Teen Top Ten List of 2012 and all around awesome book - dare I say better than Hunger Games?
Thursday, Jan. 31 - One of my goals this year is to do more freezer cooking. Today, I made two gallon bags full of chili, two sandwich-size bags of taco meat, and two balls of dough for pizza crusts to go in the freezer for days I don't want to cook or when my husband is home alone.
Friday, Feb. 1 - I got my foreshortening assignment back from Art Instruction Schools with a B+ grade.
Saturday, Feb. 2 - Value sketches for the Arabian stallion portrait I plan to do. Still trying to decide which one I like best.
Sunday, Feb. 3 - My mom's cat Bummer provided quite the entertainment during the Superbowl.
Monday, Feb. 4 - Food and library books seemed to be common in my life this week. This Amish cookbook has to be back to the library later this week, so I went through and made copies of the recipes I want to try.

Project 365 - January 22-28

Tuesday, January 22 - I joined the county fair board and attended my first meeting. This was the agenda for the evening.
Wednesday, January 23 - I delivered Meals on Wheels to homebound people in the area with my mom. This is the basket full of empty trays being returned.
Thursday, January 24 - You probably can't tell, but this is me. This is what I've looked like the last few days of single digit/below zero temps. I don't keep warm easily, so when the temps dip this low, this is what I wear - jeans and long-sleeve shirt (and if I'll be out for a longer period of time, I add long underwear), heavy insulated coveralls, fleece vest with high neck, sweatshirt, heavy denim jacket, hood/face mask, stocking cap, heavy gloves, socks (with extra pairs if I plan on being out a long time), and heavy boots. It's a long process getting in and out of all that clothing which is why I love summer so much!
Friday, January 25 - Playing piano is one of many hobbies I never have enough time for. I especially like playing Lorie Line and George Winston pieces.
Saturday, January 26 - I actually forgot to take a photo for Project 365 today, but luckily, I had taken photos for Sketchbook Sunday, so I do still have something to show you. This is my current classwork for Art Instruction Schools.
Sunday, January 27 - Relaxing for the evening with my husband. Maybe someday you'll get to see his face.
Monday, January 28 - Looking at sales listings of bulls. We're looking at getting into a kind of new breed - Black Herefords.

Project 365 - January 15-21

Tuesday, January 15 - We got my grandpa moved to his new place, and this is the interesting old barn that sits across the driveway from the house.
Wednesday, January 16 - A beautiful sunset through our grove. (It was too cold to go out to the road and take the photo, so this was taken from our doorway.)
Thursday, January 17 - The birthday gift I prepared for a long-time friend. Her husband requested we send her 30 of something that reminded us of her (it's her 30th birthday). We have a hilarious memory involving melting Dum-Dum suckers over candles, so I sent her 30 Dum-Dums as well as a nice candle as the "real" gift.
Friday, January 18 - This is my way of organizing my menu plan. I have each recipe written on a piece of magnetic paper with different colors representing beef, chicken, vegetarian/pork, side dishes, and dessert. Each week, I choose two beef recipes (since we raise it and it's cheapest for us) and one each of the other categories. One day is always "Try new recipe".
Saturday, January 19 - Cookie dough! I was craving it, so I used the single-serve "safe" recipe I adapted from Pinterest - 3 Tbs. whole wheat flour, 2 Tbs. sugar (brown or white), a splash of vanilla extract, 1 Tbs. butter, and 1 Tbs. milk (or a bit more if needed to obtain the consistency you like). Mix together, add as many chocolate chips and/or nuts as you like and voila!
Sunday, January 20 - In cleaning out my grandpa's house, I found many treasures. This one is my grandma's recipe box stuffed full of handwritten and magazine-clipped recipes.
Monday, January 21 - The weather widget on my computer dashboard. Needless to say, I'm staying inside as much as possible and can't wait until Saturday!

Project 365 - January 8-14

Tuesday, Jan. 8 - One of my Breyer Christmas horse collection.
Wednesday, Jan. 9 - Eating supper at work - leftover Italian meatloaf, Doritos, and a banana.
Thursday, Jan. 10 - Out for pizza with a friend. Pepperoni and almonds on my half; almonds and extra cheese on hers.
Friday, Jan. 11 - I'm excited to finally have a designated space set up for scrapbooking! I still have to clear out the drawers to store scrapping stuff.
Saturday, Jan. 12 - One of the sun dogs in the afternoon. It was cold!
Sunday, Jan. 13 - I pulled out a knitting project I'd been neglecting for a while and was reminded why I'd put it away in the first place - the huge tangled mess in one of the skeins of yarn!
Monday, Jan. 14 - I went to Wisconsin to help my grandpa move to a new house. This adorable puppy did everything she could to impede the progress and then finally reached the end of her boundless energy.

First Project 365 post - January 1-7

I'd debated doing Project 365 this year, but I had not really committed to it due to the fact that I did make quite a few other mini-resolutions and decided I had enough on my plate already. But about 8:00 on the evening of Jan. 1, I decided to go for it. Nothing like last minute decisions!

I decided to go with a collage format, but if you would rather see my photos full-size, let me know, and I can do them that way instead.

So here we go - the first week of Project 365, 2013:

Jan. 1 - Playing dominos with my family.
Jan. 2 - Putting the finishing touches on the portrait I gave my mom for Christmas of her cat, Bummer.
Jan. 3 - Freshly baked bread and burger buns. I've been baking my own bread for over a year now and have gradually started baking most other bread-related things as well - buns, pitas, pizza crust, etc.
Jan. 4 - Pieper, my dog. This is her confused face wondering why the heck I'm kneeling on the floor pointing a black box at her and telling her to stay where she is.
Jan. 5 - My show tack from my 4-H days. This is set up at the library where I work for our western-themed adult winter reading program. I thought this was an appropriate day for this photo as it was 9 years ago today that I lost my precious horse, Sugar, who wore this saddle and bridle.
Jan. 6 - A self-portrait. We got back from playing games with friends from church at about 11:30, and I realized I hadn't taken my daily photo yet, so this is what you get.
Jan. 7 - Working our 2012 beef calves. They got shots to keep them from getting certain diseases (much like humans are vaccinated against measles and mumps and even chicken pox and the flu) as well as a solution poured on their backs that kills parasites. The boys were also castrated at this point and we took a closer look at the girls to see who might be good future cows.


Now that I've started, I'm very glad I decided to do this. I think it'll give you a look at my real life that I don't share much of simply because I don't know what and how much to talk about without boring you.

A look back - 5 years ago today

June 30, 2007 was the best day of my life, and I'm thrilled to be celebrating five years of marriage with the most amazing husband I could ever hope for.

I love you, Baby. Here's to at least 50 more!

A-Z - get to know me!

I don't post a whole lot about my personal life. I've always been kind of a private person, especially about putting things out there online, but I'm trying to conquer that fear a little, so here's some random, fun information about me!


A. Age: 28
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore that you hate: Washing dishes, even though I have a dishwasher
D. Dogs: Pieper - 4 year old female Border Collie - she's my baby!
E. Essential start to your day: Put in my contacts! I can't read the top E on the eye charts without corrective lenses!
F. Favorite color: Deep cobalt blue
G. Gold or Silver: Depends entirely what's with it - silver with blue or purple, gold with red or green. As evidence of how undecided I am, my wedding ring is both gold and silver!
H. Height: I'm 5'5" on a good day.
I. Instruments you play: I love playing piano and consider myself somewhat good at it. I also own a bowed psaltry (a stringed instrument from biblical times that's played with a bow) though it's got a broken string, and I haven't played it in a few years.
J. Job title: Proofreader, but I am also the primary typist, the subscriptions manager, compiler of the "Days Gone By" column and the receptionist.
K. Kids: See D above.
L. Live: In southwestern Minnesota
M. Middle name: Lynn
N. Nicknames: Missy until first grade when I learned how to spell my full name and Rooney until I got old enough to be embarrassed at being called that in public. No nicknames now.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Just once after a car accident when my sister was kept overnight, and my dad and I slept on couches in the waiting room.
P. Pet peeves: I probably have a lot of them, but related to the art world - people who let their children run wild at a show. While I may not have anything breakable on my table, I don't exactly want sticky fingerprints all over my products. I'm sure the artists with breakables are just cringing.
Q. Quote: "Don't tell me the sky's the limit - there's footprints on the moon." Paul Brandt
R. Right or left handed: Right-handed for everything except dealing cards. For whatever reason, I do that with my left.
S. Siblings: Two younger sisters, Jackie and Becca - the twins eight years apart.
T. Time you wake up: 6:30 - the crazy thing is I used to be a night owl. When I started my current job and had to be at work 30 miles away at 8:00, I became a morning person, and I like it. I am very connected with light, however, and waking up in the dark all winter long is difficult at times.
U. Underwear: What's the question? What type I wear? All I'll tell you is that, even with my underwear, I like colors. The only plain white I own are the ones that came in the multi-packs with others that were colors I liked.
V. Vegetable you hate: Celery. Thus far, it's the only vegetable I've tried that I don't like, though I will eat it in stews/soups. My favorite vegetables include peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and I even liked brussels sprouts when I tried them for the first time recently.
W. What makes you run late: I despise being late! I grew up in a family that was late for EVERYTHING! I didn't know what happened at the beginning of the church service until I was 10 or so. Now, if I'm late for something that's optional, I seriously debate whether to even go.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: My arm when I was about 6 and fell off a couch cushion tower and full body after the afore-mentioned car accident.
Y. Yummy food that you make: I consider myself a pretty good cook, and there's lost of things I make that I really like. This isn't necessarily my all-time favorite, but it's one of my favorites right now:

Thai Noodles:
1 box whole wheat spaghetti
1 Tbs. oil
3 Tbs. peanut butter
1 tsp. ginger
1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne
3 Tbs. hot water
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
1/2 bag frozen broccoli

Boil spaghetti and steam broccoli.
Combine all other ingredients except seeds and mix until peanut butter is dissolved.
Drain pasta and mix with broccoli and sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Z. Zoo animal: Zebras and okapis (Google them if you don't know what they are - they're worth having a look at!). I haven't been to a zoo in ages but would love to go and get photos of the animals.

If you copy and fill out this survey for yourself, be sure to come back here and give me the link. I'd love to get to know you all better!

I am home

I've actually been home since Monday evening, but it was such a long, emotional weekend that I really just haven't felt like sharing.

This is a very long post, and I don't know if it interests anyone, but I just feel like I can't write anything else until all of this is out. Here's the rundown of last weekend.

Thursday:
7:30 a.m. - Got a call from my parents who had a message from my grandpa that my grandma was in the hospital for gall bladder surgery - we kind of laughed about it since she hates to travel and had said all along that she wasn't going to go to Green Bay for my sister's wedding. She had agreed later on, but we all saw the humor in her "finding a way out" of going.
8 a.m. - Got another call from my parents who had just talked to my grandpa, and my grandma had suffered a massive stroke the night before. Being already in the hospital probably saved her life as she got the proper medication quickly, but at that point, we still didn't know if she'd survive.
9 a.m. - Called the vet to get shot records for my dog so she could go to the kennel while we were gone. Found out that she was missing one shot and that her rabies expired that day.
9:30 a.m. - Got to the vet office, got the shots done.
10 a.m. - Home again, started packing for the trip.
11 a.m. - Left with the stock trailer to pick up our new bull which was being delivered partway to us.
12 p.m. - Loaded the new bull, did all the paperwork, etc.
1 p.m. - Got home with the bull, turned him out with the cows.
3:30 p.m. - Just about ready to take the dog to the kennel, and the guy we're feeding cattle for pulls in. Spent the next hour trying to get him to shut up and leave.
5 p.m. - Finally got to the kennel to find the owner had just left to run an errand.... wait....
11 p.m. - Finally have chores and packing done - time to sleep!

Friday:
4 a.m. - Husband wakes me up.
4:45 a.m. - Run to my parents house to look for the things they said they'd forgotten. Couldn't find them. Turns out they had them after all.
5 a.m. - Finally on the road.
6 a.m. - Hit a detour.
8 a.m. - Finally find a place to have breakfast.
9:30 a.m. - Arrive at the hospital, find my grandma's room, and promptly run out crying at the shock of seeing her condition. My aunt and grandpa arrived shortly after and assured me that she was already making progress from the day before, so I felt a bit better.
11 a.m. - On the road again
3 p.m. - Arrive in Green Bay, check into hotel, immediately leave again to get keys from my family, who were decorating the reception hall, to get my husband's tux from their room.
4 p.m. - Try on tux, it looks funny, call my future brother-in-law for his opinion, decide it's just because my husband is so skinny.
4:30 p.m. - Go to help decorate reception hall.
7 p.m. - Rehearsal and decorate church.

My husband and I practicing walking down the aisle. I think our faces pretty much say how emotionally drained we are at this point.

The decoration on the guest book table.

8 p.m. - Rehearsal dinner.
11 p.m. - Finally back to our room and some much needed sleep.

Saturday:
6:45 a.m. - Wake up simply because my body isn't used to sleeping any later - can't fall back asleep.
9ish - Shower, make up, etc.
9:30 a.m. - Leave for salon appointments.

Me with my newly done hair - this was the only point at which it looked good. The curls died long before the formal photos began.

12 p.m. - Arrive back at the hotel, already running late. Fly into my dress and jewelry and dash down the hall to lace up the back of my sister's dress since her personal attendants had gone back to their own hotel to get ready. There's 19 loops on each side of the corset back, and when I get to the bottom, I realize I missed the 6th loop on one side. Unlace and start over.

Me lacing up the dress - not sure if this was the first or second time.

12:45 p.m. - Bus is supposed to be leaving with us from the reception site so we could leave our vehicles there.
12:55 p.m. - We finally have the bride ready and on her way. We drive ourselves to the church since we missed the bus.
1 p.m. - Supposed to be at the church to start photos.
1:10 p.m. - Arrive at the church to no photographer.
1:20 p.m. - Photographer arrives - glad we rushed!
2:45 p.m. - Photos end, and we hide while guests arrive.
3 p.m. - Wedding begins, and it is the one beautiful and perfect thing of the weekend.

Bridesmaid bouquets

My sister looking at her new family - I love this photo!

Me.

3:45 p.m. - Board bus to take photos at Lambeau Field and a park.
5-10 - Arrive at reception, get announced, eat wonderful food, help my youngest sister write her speech to coordinate with mine since she was scared to speak alone (and I am too), dance with my husband, take lots of photos before getting a drink spilled on my camera, visit with family.
10 p.m. - Realize the groomsmen other than my husband have no intention of decorating the getaway car, so decide to take matters into our own hands. While sneaking out to get supplies, the bride follows us thinking we're outside to cool off. Try to lose her, send my husband, aunt, and cousin to Shopko for supplies since they're less likely to be missed. Blow up balloons to fill the back seat, wrap the front seat with crepe paper, write on the outside, tie streamers to everything, etc. This was fun! I've always wanted to have a hand in this, but never expected to get the chance as I'll obviously never be one of the groomsmen.

Let's face it, the bride is from Minnesota and the groom from Green Bay - we had to get in the Vikings digs even though there was nothing purple to be found at Shopko!

11 p.m. - Attempt to get into the bride and groom's hotel room to leave rose petals and chocolate - couldn't do it.

11:30 p.m. - My dad and my husband leave to get our vehicle from the church (we were both in the wedding party and thus went on the bus from church to photo sites to reception). They get pulled over for speeding.

12 a.m. - Dance ends, see the couple off, strip the tables, load everything up for the trip home.

1ish - Arrive back at hotel, pull dozens of pins from my hair, collapse into bed.

Sunday:

8 a.m. - Latest I've slept in a long time. Had breakfast with my other grandma, packed.

11 a.m. - Gift opening. Poured rain as we arrived, and as I ran into the garage, I slipped on the wet concrete and just about ripped my big toe nail off.

2 p.m. - Left Green Bay.

5:30 p.m. - Arrived back at the hospital, visited grandma again. She'd been moved out of critical care on Saturday which was great since they'd told us they'd keep her there at least through the weekend. She'd also moved her right foot, though her right hand still had no movement. We brought her some photos from the wedding, and no matter where we moved them, she wouldn't quit looking at them.

8 p.m. - Decided to stay the night instead of continuing home. Checked into a hotel, went out to eat to celebrate Father's Day, and then went to bed.

Monday:

8 a.m. - Slept in again!

9:30 a.m. - Visited Grandma again. She was sitting up in a chair this morning which was good to see. Her photos were spread on the table over her chair, and every so often, she'd reach up and touch one or pick one up. It's very hard to talk to someone who can't talk back. I'm not much of a chatty person anyway, so it was extra difficult for me.

11 a.m. - My husband and I continued home.

2 p.m. - Hit the detour again at the same time as the low fuel light came on in my pickup. Turned around and drove 15 miles back to the last town to get gas.

5:15 p.m. - Arrived back at the kennel and picked up the "kid".

5:30 p.m. - Finally home!

I promise I'll get something more interesting up this week. I have rodeo photos from this weekend, plus my mom and I are probably doing another once a month cooking day this week, and I'll try to remember to take photos of that this time.

My First Blog!

So I'm a little new (okay, REALLY new) to this blogging thing, but I just get so excited to share some things, and Twitter just doesn't seem to convey my thoughts well enough, so I'm going to try this avenue. Bear with me while I'm in the learning phase. :)

The county fair was this past weekend, and while the judge and I didn't see eye to eye on what makes a good photograph, I was pleasantly surprised with how some of my photographs turned out. You know how sometimes you look at that little image on your camera's screen and think, "Hey, this might be a good photo" and then you print it out and you're just wowed by it? I love it when that happens! So even though I didn't place any higher than 2nd on any of my photos this year, I wanted to share some of my favorites.