What do you think the world needs to know about American agriculture?

Here are some of the portraits from Farm Credit of Southern Colorado's Earth Day event.

I think they are awesome.
And I think the video at the end is really awesome.
Enjoy!

 

(This pretty mama is one of my best friends, Jocelyn - KK's mama!)

 

 

 

 

 

When a Cowboy Juice Cleanses

Juice.
This weekend was full of juice.
Fruits.
Veggies.
Juice.

Yep, John Wayne and I’s inner-hippie came out and we did a 3-day 2-day juice cleanse.

We did Dr. Oz’s because when I was researching cleanses, this handy dandy infographic {now there’s a word I haven’t used since my desktop publishing days of high school} spelled out everything, from the shopping list to the recipes, very clearly.

 

I decided that I was going to do this awhile back and blocked out my first open weekend on the calendar and marked it as dedicated to the juice cleanse.  Much to my surprise, John Wayne said he’d join me.  We were all set to eat drink nothing but juice for 72 hours.  That is a long time, especially to carnivores like us, who are just used to going the 10 hours or so at most between our beef dinner and bacon breakfast.

But we were ready.  Luckily, the calendar had remained clear and we weren’t faced with any disruptions to the 72 hour cleanse.  Well until the phone rang last Tuesday night and one of the neighbors invited us over Saturday afternoon to BBQ and shoot trap.  John Wayne certainly wasn’t going to turn this down and even more certainly, he wasn’t going to go and turn down a hamburger and admit that HE was participating in a juice cleanse.  And well, I didn’t really even want to admit it either, so we decided we’d go.  And eat beef.  In the middle of our cleanse.

Saturday morning came.  We were well prepared {sarcasm font} to do this cleanse thing –  the new juicer still set brand new in the box on the counter where it had for the three weeks since the UPS man delivered it.  {This is how excited we were about this new appliance, there was no getting it out, washing it, reading the instructions, beforehand…}  So we figured it out and went to juicing.  The breakfast juice wasn’t bad at all.  At this point, the excitement of a “clean me” is high and I’m euphoric about how awesome I am doing this whole juice cleanse.  {And not to mention, I know that this afternoon, I’m going to cheat and eat a hamburger.}

Well…John Wayne ran into calving problems and so there was no BBQ at the neighbors. 
No hamburger.

 

While John Wayne was out riding 12 miles, looking for a lost calf, I went ahead and made my lunch drink.  It’s the green one – kale, cucumbers, celery, etc. – I’m not even going to lie and tell you that it wasn’t that bad.  It was disgusting and I literally fought a gag reflex the whole time I was choking it down.

My euphoria is gone. 
I’m ready to quit. 
Yes, after just two drinks.

When John Wayne finally calls to tell me he’s headed home, I ask him if he wants a steak or hamburger for dinner.  {I figure after a long day in the saddle, he’s going to be all for quitting too}.  NO, he tells me, we’re having juice.  Whaaattt?  Honey are you ok, do you have heatstroke or something.

The truth eventually comes out and the reason we are forced to continue the cleanse is all about the money.  All of these ingredients were not cheap and let’s not forget about that new juicer too.

John Wayne juiced and I drank mine.

And complained.
And begged for a cheeseburger.
{The dinner drink wasn’t as good as the breakfast one, but it wasn’t bad at all}.

So, in the middle of the night while the juicing nazi was sleeping, I ate crackers.  {Not bad considering all of the things I could have eaten.}

Sunday morning, I said I’ll fix French toast and we’ll top it with all of the berries, so they won’t go to waste.  John Wayne wins again.  He continued to keep us on track, with the compromise that he’d let us break it a day early. 

We celebrated with a cheeseburger last night.

We are the worst juicers on earth.  You are supposed to prepare your body for the cleanse a few days leading up to it, things like weaning from caffeine and such.  I drank an extra cup of coffee on Friday morning in hopes that it would last me a little longer.  You’re supposed to drink a bunch of water while you juice...somewhere between chasing a busy toddler and holding a fussy 6-month-old, I forgot to drink all that water.  You’re supposed to take a pro-biotic…too cheap to add that to my grocery cart.  When you do break the cleanse, you're supposed to eat salmon and salad...not a cheeseburger.

So, I’m not really the girl to ask how a 3-day juice cleanse works for you.  I can tell you how a modified 2-day cleanse, with no preparation, ending with a cheeseburger, works for you.  My main reason behind doing this cleanse was I had read that it can help cleanse your palate and reduce cravings.  My sugar craving had gotten out of control, so we’ll see.  I haven’t raided any cabinets looking for cookies…yet.  I lost two pounds, no big deal; I could have done that by drinking tons of water.  I will tell you that I did not ever feel hungry during  the cleanse, my tummy was never growling for food.  Mentally, I was just craving meat.  With all of that being said, I will try it again.  I’m going to try to modify or find a new recipe for the lunch “green” juice, I just can’t even choke it down.  But this is not something that I’m marking off my list forever.

So there you have it, what happens when a cowboys {wife} juice cleanses.

GW's Room

Originally, the Littles were going to share a room.

As it got closer to time to move GW out of his bassinet, I decided I didn't exactly feel comfortable with this plan.

Not that the Little Lady would intentionally hurt the Little Buckaroo, but that she might try to cover him up or give him a big ol' stuffed animal.

Therefore...GW got his own room.

Well, kinda.

It's still half office/sewing room, but I think it'll work until we get the new casa built.

This is the quickest room that I've ever put together.

We moved the crib into the office on a Saturday afternoon and originally I wasn't really going to do any special decorating.

Well...that just didn't seem right.

So the next day I jumped on Etsy.

Decided the "woodland creatures" theme stuff was kinda cute.

Ordered the prints for above the crib and the bunting.

The next time I was at Hobby Lobby, I grabbed a few frames and some material to make a few pillows.

Made his name banner with scraps I had on hand.

And got some orange paint at Ace in Limon {which by the way looks way better in person}.

And with that, GW's new room was done.

{We've had it done for quite some time now, but I've never taken the time to hand stitch the pillows closed -- I still haven't, I just finally decided that you wouldn't be able to tell in a picture.  And now I'm telling you anyways!}

Girls Day {{Two Very Nice Words}}

Girls Day.

What nice words.

I've always liked these two words, but now that I'm a busy wife and working mama of two, I have an all new appreciation of these two words.

A deeper appreciation.

 

Two days before, as I was dealing with the consequences of potty training gone bad, I just kept repeating those two words to myself over and over again in my head..."Girls Day....Girls Day..."  I had just about effectively removed myself from the situation and had drifted off to the spa, with a glass of wine in hand, when the Little Lady summoned me back to reality, "Here Mama, let me help you clean this up."

 

So Saturday did finally come, and off to the spa I went with three of my very best girlfriends for a day of pampering and relaxation.

 

 

Ready for some relaxation!

 

What a cute little preggers my bestie is!

 

I hope we're still friends after I post this post-facial picture : )

 

After a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure and lunch and shopping with the ladies, I felt renewed.

I felt like my reset button had been pressed.

I missed my Littles and was ready to return to the "Mama, I need you..." beckonings from the bathroom.

 

But yes, Girls Day, will still remain two of my favorite words.



Earth Day 2013

Every day is Earth Day if you're a farmer or a rancher.

 

I believe that there is no better steward of the land than a farmer or a rancher.

The land is their livelihood, they have a special appreciation and connection to it.

 

This Earth Day, Farm Credit of Southern Colorado had the privilege of hosting a state wide Farm Credit event at our office.  We celebrated American and Colorado agriculture during a special engagement with New Orleans-based Dear World, a renowned portraiture project whose international collection of portraits tells stories, inspires, celebrates and causes us to reflect.

 

Our group considered the question, "What do you want the world to know about American agriculture?"

 

Even though the idea is a little out of the box, especially for a conservative Farm Credit group, I think everyone had a really good time.  Here are a few snapshots from our day.

 

Here for GOOD.

Farm Credit of Southern Colorado's new campaign we're rolling out in May.

Our President & CEO sharing his message.

We were honored to have Colorado Commissioner of Ag John Salazar attend.

Sharing his message uniquely.

Board members and staff enjoyed working with

Dear World founder and photographer Robert Fogarty.

I am thrilled that I got to participate in this project and look forward to doing so again when I attend the Farm Credit marketing/communications meeting next month in New Orleans.

Doctors, Dentists and Treats

Wednesday, we headed to the big city for a fun-filled {sarcasm font} day of appointments.

Although, the day went remarkably well considering all that we had to do and the fact that our latest spring blizzard was moving in.

 

We started at the dentist.

John Wayne and I both had appointments.

The Little Lady came in with me and set on my lap during my appointment so she could get introduced to the whole dentist scene.

She did remarkably well.

This could be due to the fact that there are TVs attached to the chairs and she watched cartoons the whole time.

 

After I was done, we had to go get a treat while Daddy finished up at the dentist.

 

Then we ran a few errands and grabbed lunch.

I love this pic of the Little Lady.

 

Then it was onto the doctor for the Little Buckaroo's 6-month check-up and T's 3-year.

 

The Little Lady hid behind me the whole time and cried "hide me, Mama...hide me from the guy."

Doctor Hoover pinned her {correctly} as a drama queen right off and handled her well, by ignoring her and giving her little brother all of the attention.

Eventually, she came out from hiding.

She weighed in at 34 pounds 12 ounces and measured at 36 inches.

GW weighed in at 17 pounds 6 ounces and according to his paperwork he is also 36 inches.  LOL!  I think the nurse got a little confused, I'm pretty sure he was 26 inches?!?

Their check-ups went great.  We're so thankful to have two healthy kiddos.

Then it was to Sonic for her "blue pop" {blue coconut slush} treat for being good and homeward bound.

We got home about a half hour before the snow started to fly!

KK's Birthday Party

One of the Little Lady's best little pals KK {Kaleb Knutson} turned three over the weekend.

Party time!

We headed north to Sterling to spend Saturday celebrating KK.

 

They're best little friends : )

 

 

The Little Buckaroo and John Wayne just chillin'.

 

We had a talk on the way up about how this was KK's party, she had already had hers, so she needed to just sit back and watch him open his presents.

Yeh...obviously that didn't really stick.

 

The kids had a big time playing with KK's new toys!

 

It was a great day with great friends!

Farm Credit Customer Appreciation Dinner

Friday night was the Customer Appreciation Dinner for our Limon Branch.

My Mom and Dad are customers, so they always bring the kids up to it.

Everyone enjoys getting to see the kids and the kids of course enjoy going somewhere!

 

I think the Little Lady about drove Gaga crazy Friday leading up to it.

"I need to get pretty to go to Mama's work dinner."

"I don't need to go potty, I'll go when I get to Mama's work dinner."

"I don't want to take a nap, I want to go to Mama's work dinner."

 

Miss Sara and Gunner

 

 

Future Double Trouble -- Ryder and Gunner

I've already told Baby Ryder that Gunner is counting on him to help him with his big sister!

 

 

Tressie and Kelsi

 

 

The Little Buckaroo refused to go to sleep the whole time we were there, but he continued to be his happy self and didn't get grumpy.

 

 

The Little Lady and her favorite big kids!

 

 

Tressie and the Harr girls

 

Ten on Ten {{April 2013}}

Ten pictures on the 10th day of the month

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

My day started at 4:45AM.

Rather than try and catch a few more ZZZs after I fed him, today I just set on the couch and held him.

Perfect start to my day.

This is my breakfast every.single.day.

But I love it...I crave it.

Do you all love Cuties as much as I do?

I made my hotel reservation for a conference this summer.

The conference is in Beaver Creek this year, so no travel to somewhere tropical, but should still be fun none the less.

I went to the city today so that a co-worker and I could visit a potential venue for this year's company Christmas party.

The hotel is Colorado Springs old mining exchange building and they left the vaults in when they renovated...pretty cool.

We also got to sample the food for the party at Springs Orleans restaurant.

I had the gumbo -- amazing!

And I even had a beignet left to bring back to the office for an afternoon snack.

Best part of my day...getting home to these to happy faces.

A new baby calf.

The best part of Spring on the ranch.

 

Time for Duck Dynasty!

"Only wearing this until my beard comes in, Jack!"

Ending the day, just like I started it.

Perfect.

{Thanks John Wayne for snapping this picture and then later waking me up and telling me to go do my Ten on Ten post!}