Wordless Wednesdays - Spotted.

Via: reddogspottedsheep.blogspot.com

House progress...

This year is off to a great and busy start for us!
We closed on our home on 12/28 and haven't stopped since. We've primed, painted, spackled, sanded, trimmed, pumped...the list goes on and on and I've never wanted to work up a sweat like I have wanted to for this house.

The sheep are down in the winter range and we have plenty of water for them so we haven't had to make daily trips down to the range to haul water. This is great because it allows J to stay at the ranch and help out on the house. :)

We worked on getting this house for what feels like a year, but in reality it was about 6 months. Still a very long time to feel "on your toes".

J and I knew we wanted a few things in a home:
1. His and her sinks
2. A balcony
3. Land
4. Two full baths

While our new home doesn't have the his/her sinks, it does have PLENTY of room for them.
2400 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a very open floor plan. It also has a Utility Room that is bigger than our current kitchen! I can't wait to make that space my own.

Going into this I had high (and what I've learned now to be unrealistic) hopes when it came to getting everything on my list completed.

A few things we needed/need to get done before moving in include refinishing the hardwood floors, refinishing the cabinets and painting. (There are others like pumping the septic tank and changing toilets and valves, but you know I am not helping with those things so they aren't on MY list.)

Let me share with you a few of our adventures so far....



TO DO #1: Refinish Hardwood Floors - DONE!
This was a huge job and we happened to get it done in one weekend. Did I mention this was a HUGE job?! We couldn't have done it without our awesome brother-in-law. He brought his tools, put our butts to work and now we can cross that off the To Do list. Have I mentioned the ENTIRE house is hardwood floor?! Awesome? Yes. Not so awesome, when you are on your hands and knees sanding.

While sanding, we were grateful for any help we could get:


Bruises on my knees and a few fights later, the floors are done.
Here is a peek at the living room before the floors were done to give you and idea of the vast amount of hardwood flooring. I will be posted after pics soon!

TO DO #2: Refinish Cabinets - Done? Yeah, right.
Can I first show you a picture of the kitchen? (previous owners liked aqua.)

I have high hopes for this kitchen.

You might be thinking, "Wow! That's a lot of cabinets." Yep, you are right, it is.

We sanded for three damn days only to find out we need to sand more. We sanded more and then started staining.

I thought we were home free when we started staining. Um, wrong. Staining is hard and there is a certain technique (we've learned) when working with older wood. We stained for about two days. Names were called, things were said, a white flag was thrown.

After several discussions, we gave in and called a handyman with staining experience. J feels like we are giving up, but that is not how I see it at all. We have to look at these cabinets every day for the rest of our lives and I would rather them be done right the first time then have to go back and re-do them! Lawd knows, I won't be sanding like this ever again. I think we are just being honest with ourselves, saving money in the long run and probably saving our marriage. ;)

Our handyman is going to work alongside J on the staining for one day to help move us along and show him a few tricks.

Stay tuned!

Add another candle to the birthday cake.

32 years ago on this very day, the world gained one pretty awesome guy.

His name is Jesse and he's my husband. His loyalty, generosity and love makes this world a better place.

Happy Birthday, Jesse! I love you now and forever.


Via: browse.deviantart.com

xoxo,
Veronica

Let's be better together in 2013!

What did 2012 mean to you? Did you have any goals that you accomplished?

2012 was my year of being better.

All year, I've had this overwhelming desire to be better and improve in every way possible. It's been a little ambitious, especially for someone like me, but it's truly taught me so much about myself.

It's also a desire that will continue thru 2013 and I look forward to it. 

Some things I'm trying to be better at include being a better wife. Better at juggling the stresses of life. Being mindful. Better at deflecting negativity and the list goes on.

The list goes on because you know just as much as I do that there is a lot we can all be better at. 

The summer of 2012 I started building friendships with people that inspire me to be a better person. We so often get stuck in relationships that just drag us down. Why do we do this to ourselves? As hard as it has been to let go of some friendships and create distance between others I am a better person for it.

I've also spent a lot of time evaluating my reactions to certain situations. I ask myself this question a lot, "Is this reaction in proportion to the event?"  Talk about getting some perspective. Give it a try sometime.

I've also made a conscience effort to use my words.  Sounds elementary, right? I've practiced speaking my mind and not constantly apologizing or being embarrassed for the way I'm feeling. Every emotion is justified. There is no need to apologize for it, but to stand up for it.

I did more things for me this summer. Like completing the Tough Mudder-Beaver Creek! This was one of my biggest challenges yet! It was a blast. I never thought I would be able to push myself mentally the way I did for this challenge. I've never been so proud of myself. 

As 2013 approaches, I'm anxious to see what it has in store.

One thing I DO know is that it's going to be a year of home projects because J and I just closed on our first home this past week!

In three days we've put in over 40 hours of work and I look forward to lots more. It's the most fun I've had working up a sweat, I think...ever. I can't wait to show you what we've done so far!

Our new home came with a chicken coop so, there may be some cockadoodledoo-ing in our near future.

Here's to a new year and making 2013 about being better!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Country road, take me home! Fast. (another forgotten summer 2012 post)

I hope you can keep a secret...

I may be the exception to the saying "You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl."

Here's why.

I went to Miami this past summer for a training (another piece of proof, that I meant to blog this year!). I've been to Florida before, but stayed on Marco Island which isn't a busy city, but more of a place where people over the age of 65 go to rest their heads. This recent trip I stayed in Coral Gables for five nights then stayed with a sorority sister for two in Miami. I ate a lot of sushi, Cuban cuisine here and visited this very cool bookstore among a few other things like an air-boat trip in the Everglades.

My favorite restaurant to experience was Michael's Genuine Food & Drink!

The menu changes daily at Michael's, but I was lucky and caught a weekend that their Lamb Chili was on the menu. It was nothing short of delicious. We had falafel, homemade pop-tarts (YUMMY!), crispy hominy with chili power and the blueberry pancakes and because my sorority sister is loved by everyone she meets they gave us a complimentary order of homemade Samoa cookies! I ate way too much and of course I brought home about 10 pounds of souvenirs from this trip...5 on one thigh and 5 on the other! If you are ever in Miami you MUST eat at Michael's. Must. As if you needed another reason to eat here...they are advocates for their local agriculture community and only buy locally! (I'm totally not badass enough to be paid to write this!)

I hope I am not saying too much about myself when I admit that my favorite part about Florida was the food. However, for those that know the town I live in, good food, let alone sushi is VERY hard to come by. 

The scenery was pretty if you enjoyed the vista from inside an air conditioned building. The humidity was just something crazy, definitely not my cup of tea. My girlfriend and her fiance said you get used to the weather and I believe it...while I was a glossy sweaty face mess, she didn't have a shine to her forehead. Pretty impressive.

The people weren't the friendliest either, but I don't know of a big city where they are.

Being in the city made me wish I could tap my shoes together three times and get back home. While it was great to have fun with a very good friend, eat (wayy too much) very good food, I was happy to get back home and Jigs was happy too!  

It's amazing what perspective does for us. Had I never moved to Colorado six years ago I would have thought I lived in the most awesome place ever. Southern California.

People that have never experienced Colorado and all it has to offer will never know what they are missing.

And, that is okay...I'm fine with keeping this beautiful country our little secret. 

I know at least one other blogger that is with me on this one! 

image from here 

A late post, but post-worthy

This blog post is proof that I had good intentions to blog this year. To say I was a bit distracted with life happening is an understatement. Even though it's late, it's definitely still post-worthy.
 
This past summer we welcomed four kittens to the ranch. Mama Galena is doing wonderful and so are her babies! (and has since been spayed! kittehs have a date scheduled in February!)

Hard to believe the same summer we lost a very loyal member of the ranch crew.

This summer Joe, our oldest Pyrenees was put down.

Joe was about 12 years old and was a great guard dog. It was clearly visible his last few days on the ranch were tough for him. He had started to howl and moan in pain all through the night. He had bad arthritis and couldn't walk on one of his legs because he was hit by a car several years back, it continued to get progressively worst. Joe lived a good life and was "working" up until the day he left the ranch.

Joe was loyal dog and lived to serve his owner and protect his sheep. He has been and will continue to be missed.

Rest in peace, ol' Joe.

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, and his leader. He will be yours,
faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
-- Unknown