Life of a Livestock Trader

Life of a Livestock Trader

It's 6:00 am as he gets out of bed. He's sits on the side of the bed, waiting for his knees to stop hurting before he gets out of bed. I'll take two Aspirin, he tells himself, that will take care of it. But it will only take care of it for a few moments. The young but made old man makes his away into the living room where is wife is on the computer, checking Craigslist for furniture and antiques to flip. This has become her new hobby since her business as shut down. She says this is her new opportunity, but the people around her still see the tire tracks that are left on her back. The man see new ones appearing each day not knowing what to do. Where are these coming from? He is still unsure what to do with himself and how to act around his wife, she had also had brain surgery a few years ago and hasn't been the same since. But neither has he. The young but made old man now sits next to his wife, sipping his coffee watching country music videos on TV. This is how a good morning starts. This is not how every morning use to start. Some mornings started when the semi truck got there to unload or load the livestock. Mornings, sometimes started when you heard your livestock getting attacked dogs or coyotes. Or when it was lambing season and it was your turn to go check for new baby lambs. Morning starts at all hours. This life was all that this man wanted. Just not when this man wanted. He was given this full time job at the age of fourteen. Taking of the family business and taking care of this mother was his new job because his father passed. See that is why this man is already so old at such a young age. His body had done things that that a man should have been done for two life times. He is 49 and his body is telling him he's 65. This man works hard and is gone trading livestock many days of the week still making a living for himself and his family. He's gone sleepless nights. Missed many family meals. Family gatherings. Nighttime prayers. But its been worth it all.  He slips on his work boots yet another day and walks out the door. Who is this man you ask? This man is my Dad.

Fun Finds

I've really enjoyed just going out and finding a great piece. This weekend I had great experience, I felt like I was on the TV show Storage Wars. My husband and I went to the storage auction in Lewiston for the first time and just had a blast. We learned a few lessons. First, it's like on the show, they open up the unit and everyone looks from the outside. This can be a problem or a hidden bonus that you can't see from the outside. Second, make sure that you bring a good amount of money. We didn't thought it was going to be a yard sale setting not an auction so we didn't bring enough the first trip but went by a bank to the second set of units. The average unit this weekend went for $450. But to me was well worth it. Which makes me think, how far behind the people who owned the unit really are and was $450 worth it? To me $450 wasn't even worth a quarter of what some of it was worth. Lastly, have a great time and enjoy yourself. We sure had a great time. It was fun bidding and finding out what people did and didn't get in the units. Although we didn't get the units that we wanted it was still a blast and we plan on going again. Who knows what the next storage auction will bring.

We still didn't go home empty handed. Alex suggested that we go by the Salvation Army and see if we can find anything there. When we walked in I saw a wood piece and was pretty interested in it but when I picked it up it came a part but Alex said he could easy fix it. I took it to the front and asked if there was anything they could do about the price because it was broken. It was my lucky day. They took another $2.00 off, which made my total cost $10.50. I still didn't know what it was but I really liked it. I took a picture of piece and sent it to my mother and she told me that it was a suit rack. When I got home I got on Ebay to see if it was worth it. I was happy to see that my little find was well worth it! The average vintage suit rack in the condition that I have, identical to the one I have is $150.00 so I think I made a good investment. Good find for the weekend!

Not Knowing What To Do

Cry, scream, hit the pillow
Get up and go again
What I do?
Am I doing the right thing?
Cry, scream, hit the pillow yet again.
Get up and do it all again.
It's getting harder.
It's building up
Its swelling up I can feel it
Why can't I make up my mind?
Yet again cry, scream, hit the pillow go to sleep.
Who can I talk to but this piece of paper?
It's getting too hard.
I don't know if I this...

Little Miss Short Cake

Do I want to be your Little Miss Short Cake?

While growing up I was always the cautious one.

Yes, I broke a few bones, got bumps and scrapes but I thought before I acted.

This continued with me as I've grown older.

Everyone saw me overly cautious or even worse goody goody, who never did any thing wrong.

We all know that's not true. 

I am human and have done plenty wrong. 

But to prove myself, I drank in high school.

They still thought of my as a goody goody and I hated that! I am normals. So... 

In college to prove myself, I smoked pot.

                  They still thought of my as a goody goody and I hated that! I am normals. So...

To prove myself, I did things I'm not so proud of.

                   They still thought of my as a goody goody and I hated that! I am normals. So...

I stopped listening.

I think that people see me as a goody goody because of whats inside of me and want to see become a dim light. 

But I'm not. 

I grew up in a Christian home and have a great relationship with God. 

No, that relationship isn't always what it should be but what I do know is that I can listen to him.

He doesn't call me a goody goody. 

Instead he class me, his daughter and has a great love for me.

Last night I found myself in a situation and it made me think. 

A group of lady's have started to call me their "Little Miss Short Cake"

And soon after the conversation so turned to talking about God

It's been interesting that I can never stop talking about God.

In any hard time or in good.

Yes, I get it I am positive but I am human too.

I hurt, I get sad and cry. 

I need friends and want to be excepted just like you. 

So don't look at me like Little Miss Short Cake. 

Hi, my name is Jessica

I DO!

At first I said no way 

But than a year to date I said ok

We went out on a date 

From there on out we both knew we were each others mate

So we set the date 11.11.11

I bought the dress and you got the rings

Next month I will be married for a year. I know that that doesn't seem like a lot but so much has changed since than. I have learned so much just in one year. I thought that school was a lot of work but boy was I wrong! Marriage is worth it but I had to idea how much it was going to change. I had always seen couples together and seen how easy it looks. Again, I had always heard that marriage was tough but I guess that there are so things that until you are in it you really don't know. I can say that I am happily married and it means the world to me knowing that I have someone that is willing to work on with me on matter what. Love me no matter what. Those no matter whats, really mean a lot. It is fun to plan a head but you know I am happy with what I have now. We have each other and are still getting to know each other and are learning to work as a team and communicate. Which is such a big key to marriage.

You Paint and Learn

You Paint and Learn

As I've been showing you, I've been painting. My first piece was a little side table (top picture). I got it for $25 off of Craigslist and thought that it was an interesting piece and would be a great piece to work with. Instead, I think it turned into a learning piece. Being so strapped for cash I just wish I had not spent $25 on it. At first I was all inspired and I really liked it. But after I put the dark wax on it and learned how I don't know how to apply wax I hated it. Well and that I shouldn't have put dark wax on it at all. I wish I had had clear wax. I also learned that I need to listen to myself. Being a new painter of furniture I was unsure of myself and didn't trust that what I had envisioned would turn out. I may repaint it or put it up for sale and see if I get any hits first. Lesson learned. On to the next one.  

Before

After: With Emperor's Silk and Dark Wax

The next project of the weekend was a desk that my husband got for me at a yard sale. The best places for deals, let me tell you! I love how most (I say most because there are some people that price there stuff so high they want to hold ne to it) people have such good prices that you want to buy everything. Good for my house and husband I was unable to go out and enjoy the activities that Saturday, so instead he kept any eye out for me. He did a great job and found this wooden desk for $7.00! Yes, it does need some work. I had to sand it. Work on the legs. Paint the inside of the drawers and the outside but it turned out beautiful! This piece unlike the first, I am in love. It reminds me of barn wood. I am still learning my techniques and they are getting better but my pieces are turning out more and more the way I envisioned them. Practice does makes perfect.

We Wear the Mask

We Wear the Mask

By:Paul Laurence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!

I find it interesting how the universal question, "how are you" is so bluntly thrown out there. Do people really care?  At the grocery store, when you are going through the check out line, the clerk asks you, " Hi, how are you? Did you find everything ok?" Do they really care? Me being the person being asked, do I want to answer yes just because that's the automatic response? Or do I really think about it and responde with thought and really open up to this random person. Why should I? 

We all can hide behind a response simply by saying yes or no, well most of us. Some are better at lying than others. Some people push take what comes to them and keep going. Others life kicks them down and they stay down. But with their mask they can hid, so they think. They hide the hurt, pain, but also joy and happiness. Some are just numb. We all walk but its whether we choose to take off the mask and talk. To show the real you. But are we too scared? Who will we talk to? Who knows maybe start small and talk to the clerk at the store. Take off the mask the world has given to you. You are beautiful and shouldn't hide behind such a dark cursed piece of paper. That it off the mask and feel liberated. Wear the mask no longer.

Work in Progress

Work in Progress

The addicting habit that I just don't want to kick.

As stated in past blogs I've been recently introduced to Anne Sloane chalk paints. The other night I just couldn't stop! In my life I am just starting to create my real adult hobby's. With adult hobby's you really buy into them. You build your hobby and create it into something beautiful, and recreate it as many times as you wish. As of right now I don't have the space. Therefore I am using my back porch. As you can imagine the tempters and lighting can be hard to work with.  In the morning its way to cold and usually I have class and in it usually gets dark by 7:30 pm. Like I said, the other night I just couldn't stop! I kept saying just a little longer. Even going into camping mode and getting a lantern. This piece has been interesting to work with. Originally it was a forest green on the bottom and on the top and inside it was brown. To give it a shabby chic look it am taking a white over the green and duck egg blue over the brown. The next steps will be to sand over the areas that I want the original paint to come through and finally go over it with either a dark or clear wax. The only thing with the dark wax is that I know that it will change blue to a green and I  somewhat in love with the blue, but it may also look good with the green below if I let it come throw a little. I plan to finish this piece this weekend and start a new one piece which will be either the desk or the linen closet! I just can't stop painting and thinking of other things I can get my hands on. But I need to study for my exam tomorrow. I've been way to focused on my other addictions!

I Love The Smell of Something Baking

Cooking and Baking

As you can tell I love baking and cooking. Today is not going to be any different. I am really inspired by fall, but than again who isn't? I love bananas and I just happened to have a few that are really ripe.I decided to make banana bread. I have a great recipe that I have made a few times but every time I am without a ingredient on the list. This time it was eggs. Thanks to Google I used water, oil and baking powder and it still turned out great. I also didn't  make it into a loaf either, for reason I will explain. For school its always night having something that's easy to grade when you are walking out the door and need something that is already in a good portion. Speaking of portions. My husband loves my banana bread, so much so that he will eat a big chunk of it in one sitting. I am doing this hoping that this will help it last longer. 

The second thing that I made today was a crock pot taco soup. My family likes warm things in the fall and I love that I can throw something into the crock pot in the morning and do my work dinner is ready in the evening. It never seems like I want to cook in the even compared to the middle of the day, I think I'm just tired from the day. Anyways, this recipe is a little different because it calls for beer. Now don't let the scare you, in face it should excite you! Its like you are multi tasking, your eating and having a beer at the same time. But really it just does wonders to the taste of this taco soup. I also use chicken in my recipe, I have done beef but have found that the chicken just taste a little better to me.

Here are this wonderful recipes that I have been talking about:

BANANA BREAD

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup 2 tbsp sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

3 1/2 banana, very ripe, mashed

2 tbsp sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup walnuts, toasted/ chopped

Set over to 350 degrees

Shift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffly, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oils. Add mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla. Fold in dry and nuts. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. In a muffin pan 20 minutes. 

TACO SOUP

1/2 onion chopped

1 can chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can corn, drained

1 can of green peppers

1 packet of taco seasoning

2 skinless chicken breasts

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can of any beer

1 can of diced tomatoes

Set crock pot on low for 5 hours covered. Remove chicken and let them cool for a few minutes and than shred them with a fork and than return them to the crock pot.

Top with Mexican cheese and sour cream or add chips! SOOOO GOOD!

Crafting = Crack

Originally this was a light brown color, but now it is a rustic duck egg blue!

This is the page I created!

Let me just start out by saying I had a extremely busy weekend, I guess I had to make up for last weekend when I was recovering from my wisdom teeth. Friday night I stayed up tell 11:00 pm creating this two page spread for 8 other lady's. Mind you I don't have a lot of scrapbooking things, other than what I have just received for Christmas which is; a cricket (thanks hunny), scrapbooking paper, stickers, a paper holder. I knew I didn't have very much but over the past year I've bought a few other things but just a few! When my sister in-law called and asked if I was interested in a scapbooking weekend I had no real idea what I was getting myself into. On Friday night I felt OK about my pages but they felt like they were lacking something still (other than pictures). I woke up on Saturday morning at 6:20 am to drive with my mother in-law up to Spokane for the scrapbooking day. Let me just say that we had to leave at this time, it wasn't by choice because we both are not morning people, we were the last ones to get there because everyone else stayed there on Friday night. When we walked through the doors at 10:30 am it was like I was walking into a scrapbooking store but in throw up style. IT WAS EVERYWHERE! There was only 7 people there but it was so overwhelming! From 10:30 am tell 11:00 pm we scraped! From the cricket to the wall! ;D It was fun to see everyone's pages. Everyone brought a page for everyone else to do, just like I did but we were free to put our own spin on it. I had so much fun! I really got my creative juices flowing. Now the only down side was that was still had to drive home at 11:00 pm because we had church and a birthday party in the morning. But we made it. All that to say that even with all this and the birthday party I still wanted to paint! The top picture is a lantern that my mom picked up a a yard sale for a few bucks and I painted a duck egg blue and covered with a dark wax. And I still didn't stop! But don't worry. I will post later what that project is :)

New Found Hobby

New Found Hobby And Loving It

Yes, its true I have a new hobby and just like others its been so hard to get away from and focus on what I have to get done. My mother introduced me to Annie Sloan paints a few months ago but I had painted anything yet myself, until this past weekend.  While I was under the weather from just having my wisdom teeth removed my mother went out and found a really cute magazine rack at a yard sale. She came back and said, "When you feel up to it I would like to show you how to paint with this chalk paint so you can get addicted too." After a few hours and another pain pill I gained enough strength to go outside with my mother to get lesson on how to paint. I learned that this paint isn't like normal paint. It dries really quick! And that the paint changes colors as you add layers. Its really interesting. My mother and I had some great bonding time. For a little bit of the time we didn't talk. I also learned that painting is therapeutic. Focusing on one thing and just getting lost in painting is just relaxing to me. I LOVE IT! I have posted the before and after pictures! ENJOY! Ps. I may have already bought two other larger items to paint :) 
http://youtu.be/RTMqEv85wMw
 

In Pain

Friday morning at 6:30 am I woke up to my alarm. I said goodbye to my husband as he went out the door and for the hundredth time this year told him to be careful at work. I saw the piece of paper on our coffee table stating instructions. No eating 12 hours before. My stomach gave me a deep growl. Wear something lose and comfortable because you may have to wear a hospital gown. HUH! I'll pass.  Brush your teeth but don't swallow any water. NO CHEWING GUM! Ok, I think I've got this. So, I go put on some yoga pants, a gym shirt and a zip up sweat shirt and head for the bath room. As I brush my teeth I keep repeating to myself, don't swallow! Good work Jessica, I did it. I throw my hair up and do a final look in the mirror and than say, who am I try to impress? I take my dogs outside and play with them until my father in-law drives up, he's just 15 minutes late.  Rushing my dogs into the house and into their kennel I almost fall. I am happy to say I didn't, almost being the key word. It has finally come, the removal of my wisdom teeth. We arrive at the clinic and get my iv and there isn't much that I can remember after that. All that I can remember is that after I woke up my IV site wouldn't stop bleeding...sorry for those of you with weak stomachs. When I say wouldn't stop, I am mean all over my arm and on the floor. I was very blessed this weekend to have both my husband and my mother by my side. My grandma even came and sat with me for a few hours on Friday. My first day wasn't a good day. I couldn't sleep, I was in pain and I was numb. The first night I couldn't sleep, so by the second day as you could imagine I was done for. I slept off and on and had ice on my face as much as I could stand it. This is the first time my husband has had the chance to really take care of me. I can tell you he doesn't really like it. He keeps asking me, when will I be back to normal. But on the other hand he is doing a great job of asking what he can do. Hopefully, this dry socket will no happen! I went to the dentist today because I was in a lot pain. But we shall see. Wisdom Teeth...I feel like I could have lived without going through this life lesson.