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 16-22

Tuesday, April 16 - Taking photos for Etsy listings for ready-to-frame prints.
Wednesday, April 17 - This was kind of crazy - I played five letters in Words with Friends, and this was the way the new letters came up - I did not rearrange them at all!
Thursday, April 18 - Snowing again! Will it ever stop?
Friday, April 19 - Doing some applique on a colorful quilt I've been working on for a long time.
Saturday, April 20 - Got an area set up for redoing some old Etsy photos.
Sunday, April 21 - Our dog's newest trick - we taught her to "give me 5". It's so cute!
Monday, April 22 - New game we got in a silent auction at a fundraiser - can't wait to try it!

Project 365 - April 9-15

Tuesday, April 9 - After a week of spring-like weather, we got a multi-day winter storm.
Wednesday, April 10 - The robins came too early and sat huddled in the trees throughout the storm.
Thursday, April 11 - I'm estimating 8-10 inches of snow we got. I had a better shot snowing the snowfall, but this photo of my snow-covered garden bench was much prettier.
Friday, April 12 - Extra stuff loaded up for a rummage sale (indoors!).
Saturday, April 13 - Our only Black Hereford bull calf this year. We had four heifers, and the other bull is red.
Sunday, April 14 - This morning we had an ice coating on everything.
Monday, April 15 - Doing some piano playing.

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 19-25

Tuesday, March 19 - The little calf that had so much trouble being born is up and running around. We named her Miracle.
Wednesday, March 20 - Trying to take photos of one of our bulls - he was not very cooperative. All I got was a couple photos like this with the light spots and then a couple rear views before he ducked into the herd of cows and disappeared.
Thursday, March 21 - After the calving troubles we had, we decided to buy the calving book I'd borrowed from the library earlier so we can have it on hand at all times in case there's trouble.
Friday, March 22 - Reading the next lesson book for my Art Instruction Schools course - Fabric, Folds, and the Figure.
Saturday, March 23 - We went to a "Catan-a-Thon" day. My husband won the t-shirt for having the the least points. The winner had 28, and my husband had 13.
Sunday, March 24 - Second day this year I forgot to take a photo.
Monday, March 25 - After this extremely long winter, I was very happy to see this in the weather widget!

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

Tuesday, Feb. 26 - Working on drawing with the reference photos up on the screen of a laptop - so nice!
Wednesday, Feb. 27 - Freezer cooking day with my mom. At the end of the afternoon, we each had two gallon bags of chili, chicken soup, hashbrowns, and maple pecan pancakes.
Thursday, Feb. 28 - Night out with the girls and eating blue Dum-Dum suckers.
Friday, March 1 - Pieper worn out after a long day of guarding open gates.
Saturday, March 2 - Had to come up with a way of keeping track of what is in the freezer since, besides the freezer cooking day, I've been making extra portions to freeze of some of our favorite recipes.
Sunday, March 3 - Date night with my husband who's been gone a lot of nights lately working on our planter. Our relaxing evening consisted of beef stew, mango, and watching The Avengers.
Monday, March 4 - Our first Black Hereford calf arrived! I went out to check the heifers at 3:30 a.m., and her mama was just getting up, so I missed the birth by minutes (not that I mind terribly, it's pretty gross to watch!)

Project 365 - February 19-25

Tuesday, Feb. 19 - Bitter cold day and the brightest sun dogs I have ever seen! Not long after I took this photo, they were too bright to look directly at.
Wednesday, Feb. 20 - Watching the Scottsdale Arabian show live online. Love seeing all the different classes that I've never seen before like saddleseat, native costume, liberty, and gambler's choice jumping.
Thursday, Feb. 21 - We finally had a nice warmish day (20 degrees), so I took some photos of our new Black Hereford heifers we bought last weekend.
Friday, Feb. 22 - I was lucky enough to be watching the live feed of the Scottsdale Arabian show at the right time to see a half-sister to my colt be named top ten yearling Arabian filly!
Saturday, Feb. 23 - My sweet Border Collie begging for her treat. She almost always puts one or both paws up by her face when she begs - adorable!
Sunday, Feb. 24 - Yes, I forgot to take a photo. I'd say a 54 day streak isn't bad though!
Monday, Feb. 25 - A cute summer shirt I got for $5 through my hometown's garage sale site on Facebook.

Project 365 - February 12-18

Tuesday, Feb. 12 - We're planning a long drive this weekend, so I picked up a couple audio books at the library to listen to during the trip.
Wednesday, Feb. 13 - My husband bought two loads of cattle at a sale barn 2.5 hours from home. I went back with him for the second load. We left just after dark, hit some really crappy weather, and this is when we got home.
Thursday, Feb. 14 - My Valentine's Day rose. I love the combination of roses and sheet music. I had so much fun taking photos with this rose!
Friday, Feb. 15 - At about 5 p.m., we left on our 8+ hour drive to Missouri for a cattle sale, so this is what I spent many hours looking at.
Saturday, Feb. 16 - Early this morning, we did our Walmart Valentine mission. We each went into Walmart with a $25 limit to get whatever we could find for each other for Valentine's Day. That evening, after the cattle sale, in our fancy hotel room, we exchanged our gifts. It was such a fun idea for a V-Day on a budget!
Sunday, Feb. 17 - Leaving Missouri with our new cattle and driving through Amish country, we spotted quite a few horses and buggies - such a neat sight!
Monday, Feb. 18 - Making up information sheets for the new cattle and working out the calving schedule. With the 12 new heifers we've bought in the last week, we're up to 62 calves this year plus 17 of my in-laws', and it could get started any day now. Busy busy!

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.

My new horses!

Back in May, I was offered a purebred Arabian colt because he's had surgery on his front legs and was unfit for showing. He's been weaned, and I brought him home yesterday. Just to be on the safe side, we kept him in the trailer last night, and he didn't want to be more than a couple feet from me, so this is the best photo I was able to get of him. His name is Encore, which is ironic because I was then offered another horse...

... Intrigue. He's five years old and also suffers from a cosmetic flaw as a result of an injury. The owners thought he'd be a good companion to Encore on the six hour trip home, so they offered me him as well. I am still absolutely floored!

Both of them are wonderful, level-headed horses that have been handled daily. Intrigue has had no training for riding, but he's ready to be started that way. I'm still evaluating what he does and doesn't know, so I can't say how soon I'll be riding him, but I'm hoping he'll be ready in the spring.

Can you believe it? How lucky can one girl be? I'll be sharing more about these guys occasionally as they're sure to play a big part in my life for the next 20-30 years.

2012 Crystal Springs Rodeo

The last weekend in June is one of my favorite weekends of the year - it's the weekend of the Crystal Springs Rodeo near Clear Lake, SD. This is my favorite rodeo ever, and I was extra excited this year because it was my first year with my Canon Rebel!

Here's a look at some of the photos I shot.

Opening ceremonies:

A special award was presented to the Suttons (one of the best known names in rodeo), and they came into the arena in a stagecoach.

Bareback Bronc:

Calf Roping:

Saddle Bronc:

Thanks to a delay because the ambulance had to leave (rodeos cannot continue without an ambulance present), it got dark pretty early, but my camera held up pretty well. I had to sacrifice brightness and clarity for a fast shutter speed, unfortunately.

Steer Wrestling:

Team Roping:

Barrel Racing:

Bull Riding:

Not a clear photo at all, but it was just the right moment to snap the photo!

The Cowboy Girls trick riders performed this year as the special entertainment:

 This gray horse was performing for the first time ever in front of a crowd!

Hope you enjoyed the photos!

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!

Sketchbook Sunday - June 24

Not a lot of work on the draft horse this week, but I got another little section done.

And here's a shot of all the shading so far:

I finished the composition assignment for Art Instruction Schools. I have a review test to do, and then I'll be sending in this drawing:

The next three assignments are figure drawing. I'm half excited and half scared. I really need help with drawing people, but I'm afraid that I won't be any good at them. Wish me luck!

And finally, I've been asked to design a sign for the churches in town. It's 4x8 feet and will list the names of all 10 churches along with a welcome message and a cross with the phrase "Together under the cross". I have about eight different designs sketched out. Will do a few more this week and then pick out two or three to develop further. I'm supposed to present a couple different options.

In other news, I spent the last couple nights at the rodeo. I took over 300 photos, so once I go through them and pick a few to show, I'll be posting them. In the meantime, here's a look at last year's rodeo. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised in the difference in photo quality with my Canon Rebel!