Category: Life in general

Categories
Life in general

Smoke = Fire

On our way home from the grocery store late yesterday afternoon, we were alarmed to see billows of smoke in the distance.  As we got closer to home, we realized that the fire was actually burning at the property right next to a five acre parcel we rent out.  As we crept past, we were finally able to draw breath when we saw our tenant outside, talking to Sheriffs – he and his family were safe.  I didn’t realize, until that very moment, that I had Jeremy’s hand in a death grip.

Somewhat relieved, but still nervous, we made our way home and as I unloaded groceries, Jeremy turned all the irrigation sprinklers on around our property.  Not five minutes later, the Sheriff knocked on the door and told us to get out, and get out NOW. 

The fire was burning hot and fast in the 25 mile per hour winds that descended on our valley for Labor Day.  Acres and acres of dry fields are so common in the country, despite warnings to property owners to cut and disc in preparation for fire season.  They all went up in smoke, adding fuel to a hungry and relentless fire. 

Jeremy was so glad he had disced the entire field on our five acre piece after bailing the hay there this year.  That very act probably saved not only our rental, but the people who live there.  The houses behind that property were not so lucky – today, little but ashes remain where some of them once stood.

Taking the Sheriff’s warning, we put the groceries back in the car along with some clothes, back up disks for the computer, the three inside cats, and random stuff I couldn’t stop grabbing.  Alison was in a full-on panic, and Blythe was hungry but there was no time to eat the dinner I had started to prepare.  We left Jeremy and the dogs with the truck and went down the driveway to go to my parents’ house.

As I turned left toward their house, all I could see was a wall of intense, thick smoke and tall flames across the road.  The fire had already made it to us, and was making its way past us, as well.  I had to turn the other way, and give up the hope of making it to my parents’ house.  Instead, we went south and then east, around the fire’s path, to get to Jeremy’s parents’ house in another town.

Unfortunately, I had been trying to wait until after the holiday weekend to fill up on gas, and was literally running on fumes.  The kids were crying and Alison had to go to the bathroom, but we were out in the country with nothing around.  My eyes, nose and throat felt like they were on fire from inhaling so much smoke as I loaded the car to make our escape.  There was a lot of hopelessness floating around in my body, but we made it safely to our destination.

—- We’re all safe, and our home was spared.  But I have to stop there for now. —-
                                          See photos of The Day After here.

Categories
Blogging Business Life in general

Increments of Five and a Contest

Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed, chaotic, unfocused, and “blah”.  There are so many things I want to do, that I end up outright neglecting some areas of my life  and completely forgetting about others.  Life always seems more manageable with a plan though, right?

So today we had a little family meeting and I asked everyone to help me make a list of the five most important things I do (or can do) for them, the house, work and myself.  We all spoke for Blythe, because her answer to almost everything right now is, “Nemo”.

For a little extra fun, I’d love for you to tell me: What are your Top 5 Priorities, from any facet of your life?  THEN, to win something COOL, tell me who picked what as a favorite vegetable down below. 

————–

I’m going to make each of these important things a priority, so that I can be a better Mother, Wife, and Self.  Here we go.

Alison and Blythe:

1.  Read a bedtime story
2.  Play
3.  Talk nice / have patience
4.  Laugh
5.  Work so we can have money to buy stuff at Target

Jeremy:

1.  Let me know you appreciate what I do
2.  Spend time with me + LOVIN’
3.  Massages
4.  Make work a priority
5.  I like cold stuff to drink in the fridge

Me:

1.  Eat Healthy
2.  Exercise
3.  Get plenty of sleep
4.  Make time for the people I love
5.  Make time for myself to be creative

House:

1.  Laundry
2.  Food – groceries & cooking
3.  Dishes
4.  Picking up / controlling clutter
5.  Keep the floors clean (as clean as possible, anyway)

And then, because I’ve had to scrap pretty much every recipe I had accumulated over the last 15 years when we found out Blythe was allergic to corn and eggs, I asked everyone to tell me their favorite meal.  For a little while, each week day will have a corresponding meal and I’ll expand our menu from there.  On the weekends, we’ll wing it and/or have left overs. 

Dinners:

1.  Spaghetti
2.  Caesar Chicken with noodles, peas and carrots
3.  Chili with bread
4.  Chicken Pot Pie
5.  Stir fry with rice

Everyone named a favorite veggie:

1.  Lima beans
2.  Crunchy carrots
3.  Peas & carrots
4.  Edamame
5.  Broccoli

And a favorite fruit:

1.  Strawberries
2.  Cherries
3.  Grapes
4.  Melon (any)
5.  Apples

————–


* edited to make the rules less confusing *

For the Contest

Assign each person to a veggie:

Jeremy
Andrea 
Alison (4 1/2) 
Blythe (15 months) 

Veggies:
1.  Lima beans
2.  Crunchy carrots
3.  Peas & carrots
4.  Edamame

The first person to guess correctly wins the prize.  If no one gets the correct combination, I’ll award the COOL PRIZE to the person with the most correct answers.

And don’t forget to tell me your top 5 priorities, if you want – but it’s not necessary to win.

Categories
Blogging Business Entertainment Life in general

Audience of One

Years ago I read somewhere that to be successful at writing (or acting, or whatever your craft may be) you should think of your audience as you work.  Without your audience, “they” said, you would be less able to fully engage yourself. 

Originally, this blog was supposed to be a spin off of my childbirth education website.  But if you were to go back and read those first posts (and believe me, I’m not encouraging you to do that) you would see how dry and bo-ring they were.  I hardly ever posted back then, because even I didn’t have any interest in reading something so… stiff.

But then I decided to find my audience.  Who could I write to, and feel completely at home with myself?  That answer was easy: my best friend of 17 years, Rachel.  Not only has she encouraged me to continue writing in many ways over time, but I also know that no matter what I say, she’s not going to laugh at me.  Well, she might, but it’s in a totally nice, non-judgmental way.

Whenever I sit down here to write a post, I pretend like I’m writing to Rachel.  She gets my sense of humor, and she loves me despite my quirks.  I can just be.  It’s incredibly liberating.  Rachel is my audience of one – and the reason I’m able to get over my self-doubt enough to write things for all the world to see.

The difference between the dull posts of my first 5 or so months here, and everything after that, is plain to see: Rachel helps me to be a better me.

———–

Do you have an audience, or are you able to hone your skills for yourself alone?

Categories
Life in general Ranch Life

Target Practice

* Disclaimer *  The following post contains simmering anger.  I’m not going to edit it, or try to make it witty.  But I’ve got to get it OUT.  Read at your own risk.

I was playing on the floor with Blythe when I heard a knock on the door.  Since I didn’t hear a car pull up, I figured it was one of our employees. 

Nope, it was code enforcement and a Sheriff.  Turns out, someone made a couple of complaints about us, and they were here to investigate.  Complaint #1: A diesel tank.  About a year ago, we had a diesel tank put on the edge of our property.  Before we could even start looking into installing it and having it filled, one of our neighbors (we have very few) threw a hissy fit about it.  We decided not to use it, and had it removed.  End of story, right?  Wrong.  But clearly it’s not even THERE anymore, so on to…

Complaint #2: Someone reportedly living in a motor home on our property.  Um, do you SEE anyone living in a motor home?  Yes, we do have an old motor home sitting over there in the corner, we used to use it for Jeremy’s softball tournaments.  The whole team would ride up in there.  But, clearly, it hasn’t been used in quite some time, and no, other than BUGS, there is no one living there.

So after they left, satisfied that no codes needed enforcing, I called Jeremy and was all, WTF is up with our neighbors?  It turns out, Jeremy HAD gone into the motor home that morning to take out anything he wanted to keep, because he was having someone pick it up and scrap it.  So, now we aren’t even allowed to STEP FOOT IN OUR OWN MOTOR HOME, on OUR OWN PROPERTY, without someone turning us into code enforcement for LIVING IN IT.

I probably would be able to just laugh it off if someone hadn’t turned us in a couple of weeks ago for “illegally installing a pool”.  I was out front, minding my own business, when the county inspector drove up.  But um, yeah, that pool’s been there for YEARS.  Turns out, though, we had a few other issues, now that WE WERE BEING PUT UNDER A MICROSCOPE. 

But, fortunately, that’s all being taken care of.  And, miracle of miracles, the people on the county side of things are being very nice and helpful.  And the inspector fell in love with Bella while he was here, and decided to adopt her, so that was an added bonus.

The thing is: why do our (very few) neighbors HATE US?  When we moved here, they told us to GO BACK TO THE CITY.  But we’re not even FROM the city, we’re from, like, a mile away.  So we fixed up what had been a condemned house, landscaped, cleaned the place up.  Installed nice fences, slowly accumulated cattle and farm equipment.  We keep our fields irrigated and cut.  When Jeremy’s out there, he even cuts and/or discs our neighbor’s property FOR FREE if they want. 

We also share a gravel road with a few people.  When we moved here, it was full of potholes and was down to dirt in a lot of places.  EVERY YEAR, we pay for more base rock to be delivered, and we (and by we I mean Jeremy, of course) smooth it out.  EVERY YEAR, they get their road repaired FOR FREE.

We’ve done nothing but bring their home values UP.  So what’s the problem?  Is it the fact that we have all our teeth?  Is it because we don’t have a yard full of junked up cars?  Is it because our animals are well taken care of, and we don’t live in a mobile home?  Is it because we don’t cook crystal meth in our barn?  Is it because we shower regularly?

Tell me, people.  TELL ME.

And a word of advice:  if ever you decide to move to a ranch for all that space and privacy, try to buy like a hundred acres, and put your house right in the middle.  Because apparently, 11 acres is NOT ENOUGH SPACE for people to get up out of your business. 

Categories
Life in general

Almost

Light crept through the windows this morning, announcing a new day.  As much as I tried to deny that it was time to get up, I knew the minutes were ticking by.  Soon enough, my kids would be awake and they would be the sole focus of my attention.

So I got up.  Made the bed, started a load of laundry.  Showered, cleaned the tub, the toilet, the sink.  Brushed my teeth, got dressed, swept the floor.  As I made breakfast I heard Blythe cry out from her room and I jumped, startled.  I hadn’t realized, until that moment, that I was still half asleep.  I smiled a little, in acknowledgment of how following my morning routine was almost like getting a half hour of extra sleep.  Almost.

It’s an interesting word, almost.  At once it can imply dodging a bullet or the beginning of deep regret.  Parents whose child almost didn’t make it live with the utmost respect for the word.  A doctor who loses a patient carries ‘almost‘ heavily upon her shoulders.

As the Olympics pervade our daily lives, there are constant instances of almost.  Occasionally as we watch, I steal a look at Jeremy and wonder if he is reliving the Olympic Trials of 1996.  He almost made the US Olympic Wrestling Team, losing two one point matches.  On the other hand, those who made it instead of him almost didn’t – it’s a matter of perspective.


He came so close to realizing every athlete’s dream.  Almost.  But if he had made the team, would he be here with me, now?  Taking turns sticking our arms, elbow-deep, into a laboring pig?  Going through the minutiae of our daily lives?  Or would he be somewhere else, still ensconced in the world of an Olympic-class athlete?


If he had made The Team of all Teams, he wouldn’t have moved back to his home town after the trials, or gone to college across the street from my office.  We wouldn’t have spent our lunch hours getting to know each other, never would have fallen in love. 

Almost.