Two Cities, Two Trails

Since most of us are either under 2 feet of snow or 8 inches of rain, I have some trail eye-candy to share with you. (Nevermind that these photos were taken last month…)

First up, Cowboy H and I rode out from our ranch into the local State Park with a few other residents boarders. It was a gorgeous day!

From January 16:

Love the snow-capped mountains nearby!






Here I am on my mount (Maria was lame). Isn't he handsome? I am five and a half months pregnant here.

A week or so later, Cowboy H and I headed out to the desert for a little ride with the Desert Rose. We lucked out and landed another gorgeous day!

From January 25:

Cheers! Of course.


Isn't she fabulous!


Cowboy H and I borrowed horses instead of hauling ours all the way out there. I am nearly six months pregnant here. Photo courtesy of the Desert Rose.




There was water everywhere; it was so refreshing!

Hope y'all enjoyed a glimpse of what all this stormy weather will give way to in a few months. Stay safe and warm!

The Deets On Baby H

Due: Middle Of May. May 21 if you're one of those specific dates people. However, I am the Maid of Honor in a wedding on that exact day, so I'm (wishfully) going with "middle of May".

Gestational Age: (So you don't have to calculate it yourselves.) 6 months, 1 week. Or 25 weeks.

Gender: Yes, Baby H is a confirmed boy. My use of "he" in my previous post was not accidental.

The Day We Found Out: Sept. 14. In fact, it was the day before the photo of us in the previous post was taken.

First Time I Felt The Punk Kick: Dec. 11. I was 17 weeks exactly.

Yes, I was very very sick. The nausea (and vomiting) lasted well past my first trimester. I lost 5 pounds before I bottomed out.

Yes, I'm still wearing normal jeans (unbuttoned of course). The only maternity clothes I have purchased so far are a few tops. (We're cheap-asses.)

Yes, I am still working. I hopefully will be able to work until about the week before Baby H debuts. And yes, I will go back to work shortly after his birth, as much as I will hate it.

Yes, I am still working out, although I had to take an extended break when I was sick. At this point, I'm back to 3 times a week. I treadmill one day, strength-train (weights) another day and swim the last day. Although, I need to upgrade from my high school water polo swimsuit soon…

And lastly, yes, I am still riding. In fact, Cowboy H and I went on two longish rides (4-5 hours) in the last few weeks, and I have photos! I'll share them with you soon; the rides were just beautiful.

I can share all the gory (and precious) details with you if you want. Ask away!

Tap Tap… Is This Thing On?

The most recent photo I have of Cowboy H and I, taken in September of last year.

Hello? Anybody out there?

Anybody?

As I begin to write my first post in, oh, seven months, I wonder if I will even show up on anybody's feed anymore. Heh heh, that's okay, we'll all gotta start (over) somewhere.

This is seriously the first time I have even logged into my blogger account in about 6 months. It took me approximately 7 tries to get my user name and password combination correct. Then I couldn't remember how to navigate my account once logged in. Lastly, I can't remember how to write html format anymore!!!

I'm surprised my account is still active…

I never, ever intended to stop blogging, but once I had been MIA for so long, I felt weird coming back. I didn't know where to start, what to say.

Then, I lost all motivation. My schedule calmed down and I actually had some time to blog, but I just couldn't talk myself into logging in. I didn't feel like a blogger anymore.

Not sure if I even can call myself a blogger anymore…

Moving on. I miss y'all!! (Seriously, is anyone still there?)

I'm not sure if I'm back for good, but I really really really want to be back. So much has happened that I haven't documented (you know, its been almost a year) that I'm starting to forget it all. And really, while establishing wonderful connections with all my readers/commenters has been a big plus, the main reason I started this blog was to record and remember the story and adventures of The Homestead.

Speaking of The Homestead…

Its still standing. It didn't get washed away or flooded out during the Southern California Christmas-time Downpours.

But that's about all that's stayed the same.

Well, the number of family members has stayed the same.

But, that too will be changing soon.

Oh yes, we are doing it again.

Only this time, the newest member won't be here till May.

And he'll have 2 legs instead of 4.

And (hopefully) he won't be covered in fur.

A Homemade Wedding Homestead-Style: All The Little Details

Yes, I'm finally getting back to the wedding posts. I was hoping to finish before our anniversary, but Hawaii commandeered my brain in the weeks before (and after) the trip.

Also, the yard project will soon be hitting stands, as the pictures have finally been processed and uploaded.

You all still with me?? Anyone black out for a minute there??

Goodness knows I almost did when I typed those words.

~~~

Now, onto the good stuff!

When planning weddings, brides/planners seem to OBSESS over the details. Details are a double-edged sword (in my opinion). They can make or break the event, but they can also make or break the bride/planner. Like every other aspect of our wedding, there were some details that were very important to me and others I couldn't have cared less about.

I'll start with the flowers. A family friend designed/arranged all the flower pieces for me. She did a flippin AMAZING job. The flowers came out EXACTLY like I wanted them to, but hadn't been able to clearly articulate. I had a very specific vision for the flowers; I wanted a very particular feel. However, I didn't care at all what actual flowers were used. Here's what she came up with:

My bouquet, which you've all seen before.


Maid of Honor's bouquet, same as mine only smaller, also tied with raffia.


Cowboy H's bout, with a bit of raffia to tie in with my bouquet.


Reception table centerpieces, again raffia.


This metal "basket" already hung on this gate at the reception location. The gate marks the way to the barn. My florists filled it with this killer arrangement.


This old butter churn was found in my mother's kitchen; we didn't know exactly what we were going to do with it, but knew it needed to be part of an arrangement!
Photo by my cousin, Joelle.

I was very fortunate that my venue came with tons of cool details that completely added to the feel of our wedding. Here are a few of them:

Wagon wheel chandeliers.


An old door turned into a mirror hanging behind the bar displaying our names on playing cards.


Non-alchoholic drinks in glass servers stationed on an old dresser with white string lights hanging behind.


A handmade sign nailed to a piece of old farm equipment pointing the way.

There were also a few other details that I had my mind set on.

The baby photo boards:

Photo by my friend, Katie.

The handmade (by me!) signs:

My beloved Menu board (also made by me). This is going in our backyard once we get our BBQ pit made.

Photo by my friend, Lauren.

My "Mr & Mrs" chair signs:

And last but not least, my FAVORITE detail of all:

Our horseshoe wedding favors. Did you read the tag? Yes, they all really were from Smoke Tree Stables, and yes, they all really were used. We had to hammer the nails out of and straighten every single one.

So worth it. People loved them. I loved them. Cowboy H loved them… because they were free!

Up Next: One last photo shoot! (The end is finally here!)

If you missed anything, catch up here.

Unless otherwise noted, all photography credit goes to the always rockin' Applemoon Photography!

Tears In My Eyes

Tonight, as a parent I experienced one of the proudest moments of my life. Seriously, my heart swelled in my chest and something became lodged in my throat.

You may or may not remember, but a little over a year ago, when we rescued The Hankster, he required a major orthopedic surgery.

Poor little guy was only 12 weeks old and he came home like this:

In the months (heck, the whole year) that followed, Cowboy H and I often questioned whether the surgery did any good. Occasionally, we considered having the entire leg amputated. For the longest time it seemed, Hank didn't even use the leg. It was just there, even in the way sometimes.

Eventually we realized that the leg was shorter than the other one. In the few weeks between his injury and the surgery, the blood supply to his femur had been compromised. For that period of time, Hank's right femur did not grow at the same rate as the other, making the leg a little stumpy. We're still not sure if he'll ever use the leg normally, despite the fact that he gets quite a bit of use out of it now.

In addition to having leg surgery, Hank was also neutered the same day. The combination of not using the leg and not having the male hormones made us wonder if he would ever stop squatting to pee.

Until tonight. Tonight, while running around at the park, Hank stood on his bad leg and lifted his good leg to pee on a pole.

I have never been prouder.

Never, ever in my life.

In other news, the winner of the "Name That Photo" contest has been decided.

The Desert Rose: "Redneck woman vacuums up two dogs..."

I seriously laughed out loud, because well, I wouldn't be surprised if I actually did vacuum up a dog someday.

Congrats Desert Rose! Take your pick of one of the following:

Redneck Woman

Although, I suppose the fact that I am vacuuming disqualifies me from the redneck category.

What do you think?

Or better yet, what would you title this photo?

Most creative (i.e. the one that makes ME laugh the hardest) gets an original black and white 8x10!

ALOHA!!!! (Or My, Oh My, How I've Missed Y'all!)

I'm back! I'm back!

Of course, no one knew I was gone since I never bother to tell anyone anything anymore.

But, I'm back. I'm back online. I'm back to blogging (I promise). And I'm back from a whole entire week in Hawaii (with Cowboy H of course)!

I've written post after post in my head over the last several weeks and am finally going to get them published. I've got the yard project to update you on, I've got more pictures of Crow, I've got a plethora of prints from my photography class to share (and give away!), I've got the wedding recaps to wrap up, and most importantly, I've got our overdue Honeymoon to share now!

For now, enjoy this sneak-peek of the vacation and stay tuned for anything and everything else!