Being stuck on the couch is no fun! Soooo I have decided to make the best of it, going through things in preparation for the part time move.
Man I have a lot of stuff, not cool stuff or necessary stuff, just stuff! purging is good! And the biggie! I hired a housekeeper! yup! I did it! As many of you know I am gone A LOT, and Suzy homemaker is not my middle name!
The mega crew comes in Friday, I mean, carpets, floors, walls, windows, cupboards, the works!
And after that a cleaning lady weekly. This is something I let go when I came back to California. Dumb!
When my husband was Alive this was something that I did regularly, when he was due in, I had the cleaning lady come an extra time so the place sparkled when he came home. He knew I didn't do it, but the fact that it was done was one of the little things that showed that I cared. Another was great meals and impeccable laundry! That I did myself. Ironing and cooking make me happy, vacuuming and dusting, not so much....
I would rather pull calves at 2 am than scrub floors. Do you see where this is going? I've said for years that I need a man wife! In lieu of that, A cleaning lady will have to do!
As this journey progresses people really want to come visit, and nope! Not the way things have been let go around here! So, as a gift to myself I'm having someone else do the things I hate! I want to invite you in, feed you well and have great conversations!
Looking back these are the kinds of things that keep our relationships solid, little things, fluffy towels in the bathroom, notes in the lunchbox, silly stuff really does make a difference. With friends it's homemade chutneys, hand braided key fobs ,Bridles at Christmas if you are a rider, and beef! (pork when I have one in the freezer for me). I'm at that stage where I CAN let people into my world again and it's important to me that things are nice. I want to focus on the good stuff! So I'm' treating myself to A Nate Berkus style home renovation! When things are neat and tidy you really do feel better!
Next will be a detail guy for the trucks! Don't ask!
Until next time. M
Monday, June 24, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Take it Minute by Minute
Some of you know that I had skin removal surgery this week. It is another step in my journey back to health. Some people are already being critical and calling it vanity. WRONG! It was a necessary procedure, as soon as the swelling goes down and the stitches come out I will be able to do things I haven't done in YEARS! Crawl over the tailgate of a truck, slide down to change settings on the tractor, get on a horse without a mounting block. Wear clothes that don't stretch! Holy heck! People have been listening to me complain about being too short to reach over a set of duals to get stuff out of the truck for years! I wasn't too short! I had 8' of stuff in the way! I worked Hard! Got a lot of those pounds off, and now I can MOVE!
My cattle benefit from this as well! I no longer drive through the pastures and eyeball them from the cab of the truck, I walk those pastures, or ride them either on a horse or ATV. I can see and assess condition and health from 3 feet not 30, and Yes it does make a difference!
My journey is far from over, in fact it will never be over, and I'm thrilled that many of you have decided to take it with me! I have found friends that I did not know were there, and you all inspire me!
It truly is a journey taken minute by minute, emotions, attitudes, angst, they all have an effect on how I handle each and every day. Raising livestock takes dedication, Life takes dedication, and once you decide to make the choices that are right for you and the life you choose, things line out rather quickly. It's not easy, in fact it's damn hard! But you have to LIVE! Just existing sucks!
We all shuffle that if deck, If only I had done this, If I wasn't alone, If it wasn't so much work, and the list goes on. Set priorities, Set goals, Lose your negativity, I promise you that with hard work and dedication you can change anything! I'm living, breathing proof of that!
If you would have said to me even a year ago that I would be speaking to people all over the world about agricultural practices and how our own health ties into the big picture I would have said that you had lost your marbles! But guess what! I would have been wrong.
I believe that each and every one of us has a purpose, and mine happens to be talking about food, choices, and the future of agriculture from a real world perspective.
Too many people are disconnected from the real life issues faced by farmers and ranchers every single day! How do we feed the world? By being exceptional stewards, of the land, the bounty that comes from it, and the most basic tool that we use every minute to make that possible, our bodies. Because without that, we have nothing.
Until next time! M
My cattle benefit from this as well! I no longer drive through the pastures and eyeball them from the cab of the truck, I walk those pastures, or ride them either on a horse or ATV. I can see and assess condition and health from 3 feet not 30, and Yes it does make a difference!
My journey is far from over, in fact it will never be over, and I'm thrilled that many of you have decided to take it with me! I have found friends that I did not know were there, and you all inspire me!
It truly is a journey taken minute by minute, emotions, attitudes, angst, they all have an effect on how I handle each and every day. Raising livestock takes dedication, Life takes dedication, and once you decide to make the choices that are right for you and the life you choose, things line out rather quickly. It's not easy, in fact it's damn hard! But you have to LIVE! Just existing sucks!
We all shuffle that if deck, If only I had done this, If I wasn't alone, If it wasn't so much work, and the list goes on. Set priorities, Set goals, Lose your negativity, I promise you that with hard work and dedication you can change anything! I'm living, breathing proof of that!
If you would have said to me even a year ago that I would be speaking to people all over the world about agricultural practices and how our own health ties into the big picture I would have said that you had lost your marbles! But guess what! I would have been wrong.
I believe that each and every one of us has a purpose, and mine happens to be talking about food, choices, and the future of agriculture from a real world perspective.
Too many people are disconnected from the real life issues faced by farmers and ranchers every single day! How do we feed the world? By being exceptional stewards, of the land, the bounty that comes from it, and the most basic tool that we use every minute to make that possible, our bodies. Because without that, we have nothing.
Until next time! M
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Dogma, and the effects of peception.
Computer is back from the doctor so here we go!
Several days ago a great friend of mine went on a rant, It really got me to thinking about what we as a society are doing and why.
His rant happened to be about the strictures of "PALEO" and as I laughed at his postings, I had an AH HA moment. It's all about Dogma! You must adhere to preconceived notions or precepts or you are not "one of Us." The same holds true for Agriculture, If you aren't feeding this way, or managing your herds that way, you are wrong. I call BS!
Do what works! I have Celiacs disease so I don't do grains, When I know it is unavoidable (or that once a month biscuit and gravy) I plan for it, knowing full well that I will pay the price. It is a choice! I haven't dropped over 275 lbs listening to those that put me down for my choices. Heck no! So what if I'm not your definition of whatever fad you choose to follow this week. I am my own success! Same holds true for my Cattle, We follow a low stress program, we also irrigate our finishing pastures with a very specific formulation to get our Grass fed and finished beef to Grade out in the top 2/3 of choice. I giggle when people say that our beef isn't what it is because they don't know that it is possible to do what we do on graze alone. Oops! Better check it out!
One of my biggest concerns and what really shed a bright light on the issue was when one of the "Leaders" of the "Paleo" community had a great time at my expense, yet couldn't be bothered to travel 15 minutes out of their way to lay eyes and tennis shoes on our operation. That's right 15 minutes! Why couldn't they do it? I believe that it is because they would have had to apologize for their actions and they would rather play God than be wrong. That being said, Take the Church of Paleo and Shove it!
I eat REAL FOOD, I don't judge those that choose a different path, I share what works for me, and if I get one person interested in changing their life for the better, that's a MAJOR WIN! I have people come out all the time because they "Just can't Believe the BS" Great! Now they know how WE raise beef, how our operation works, a little bit about me and my choices and they come away THINKING!
My life and my operation has become multi faceted rather quickly, and frankly, I don't have time for the Negative crap! Life is hard! It takes work! Lots of it! And those people that are loving and supportive are what we NEED as human beings to keep moving forward. Perceptions can change in the blink of an eye just by tone of voice or intonation, Lack of knowledge leads us to follow the Dogma thrown out by people that truly have no clue, that scares me!
Think about what you are doing and why, do research, learn, work hard, play hard, love deeply, and be grateful. If you want Ice cream or a Burger with fries, EAT IT! Just not every day. Hold on to those that love you and let the rest go. It may hurt for a second, but let me tell you, negativity can kill you.
Several days ago a great friend of mine went on a rant, It really got me to thinking about what we as a society are doing and why.
His rant happened to be about the strictures of "PALEO" and as I laughed at his postings, I had an AH HA moment. It's all about Dogma! You must adhere to preconceived notions or precepts or you are not "one of Us." The same holds true for Agriculture, If you aren't feeding this way, or managing your herds that way, you are wrong. I call BS!
Do what works! I have Celiacs disease so I don't do grains, When I know it is unavoidable (or that once a month biscuit and gravy) I plan for it, knowing full well that I will pay the price. It is a choice! I haven't dropped over 275 lbs listening to those that put me down for my choices. Heck no! So what if I'm not your definition of whatever fad you choose to follow this week. I am my own success! Same holds true for my Cattle, We follow a low stress program, we also irrigate our finishing pastures with a very specific formulation to get our Grass fed and finished beef to Grade out in the top 2/3 of choice. I giggle when people say that our beef isn't what it is because they don't know that it is possible to do what we do on graze alone. Oops! Better check it out!
One of my biggest concerns and what really shed a bright light on the issue was when one of the "Leaders" of the "Paleo" community had a great time at my expense, yet couldn't be bothered to travel 15 minutes out of their way to lay eyes and tennis shoes on our operation. That's right 15 minutes! Why couldn't they do it? I believe that it is because they would have had to apologize for their actions and they would rather play God than be wrong. That being said, Take the Church of Paleo and Shove it!
I eat REAL FOOD, I don't judge those that choose a different path, I share what works for me, and if I get one person interested in changing their life for the better, that's a MAJOR WIN! I have people come out all the time because they "Just can't Believe the BS" Great! Now they know how WE raise beef, how our operation works, a little bit about me and my choices and they come away THINKING!
My life and my operation has become multi faceted rather quickly, and frankly, I don't have time for the Negative crap! Life is hard! It takes work! Lots of it! And those people that are loving and supportive are what we NEED as human beings to keep moving forward. Perceptions can change in the blink of an eye just by tone of voice or intonation, Lack of knowledge leads us to follow the Dogma thrown out by people that truly have no clue, that scares me!
Think about what you are doing and why, do research, learn, work hard, play hard, love deeply, and be grateful. If you want Ice cream or a Burger with fries, EAT IT! Just not every day. Hold on to those that love you and let the rest go. It may hurt for a second, but let me tell you, negativity can kill you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)