Yes – I’ve been away for quite some time. Well, not exactly away. Just busy. Insanely busy. So busy, in fact, that I haven’t created a new recipe in a year, sewn anything, painted anything, decorated anything, printed anything…and so on. My time has been spent working a full time job, living in a 1 room “cabin” in Tioga North Dakota, meeting my husband, getting married and moving to Calhan Colorado.

Yes – Calhan Coloardo. Yes – Married. Yes – Babies are possible within the next year.

Crazy; I know!

I’m ecstatic with the changes in my life and I cannot wait to get started building a life with my husband that will last FOREVER and be a nurturing, loving, happy home for future children.

Oh wait – You want to see some photos? I’m certain I can manager one.

This is one of our engagement photos. This was actually taken mere hours before the ceremony.

Photo taken by Wild Mountain Photography of Helena Montana

Meet Michael.

I’m a lucky gal!

(And yes, I do know I am. I’m pretty certain he’d say he was a lucky guy, too!)

And a photo from our wedding.

Photo taken by Wild Mountain Photography of Helena Montana

So in a nutshell, my life has bloomed into something more than I ever imagined or dreamed of. Along with my marriage and moving to Calhan, I’ve gotten my creativity back and I’m working on setting up a studio in our home. I’ll post some pictures of the ‘before’, as soon as I find my camera!

I hope you’ll all join me!

Dear Blogary.

I’m not normally one to keep a diary, so I’ve come up with a Blogary. (Blog + Diary = Blogary. And yeah, I’m making that up. I’ve never heard it used before so it’s MY word.) In all honesty, I’m terrible at keeping things up to date. And lets face it, if you don’t do something right away, odds are you’ll forget all of the details the longer you wait to jot them down. I’m thourougly impressed with my granpa, who faithfully writes down the days happenings in a calendar. Usually he notes the high and low temperature for the day, who came to visit, what he did or something interesting grama did. I know he keeps them. I’m already so thankful for his calendars and the joy that I’ll get from them one day once his time on earth has past.

I started the day out excited. Excited because during my stay here in North Dakota I’ve missed almost 2 months worth of Sunday services and my heart was starting to feel heavy. I’m not one to usually seek out man’s religion, as my beliefs and spirituality are based on a close relationship with The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost, but I know that meeting with other Christians, listening to sermons and participating are ways one learns more and deepens their relationship with God. Sometimes your soul just craves that fellowship. I think this is Gods way of pushing us to strengthen our relationship with him. My excitement this morning stemmed from my attending a church service in town. And there’s always a layer of apprehension as well when one attends a new church. I’m so comfortable in my church back home, and I love my pastor dearly. I learn something new every Sunday service and I always come away with a glad heart and renewed faith. I guess I’ve come to expect that from a sermon. I want that joy. Again, I reiterate, I WANT that JOY! I was hoping for the same today.

I came away heartsick. Mostly because I couldn’t follow the sermon, and what I did follow was based on negativity and sin. Yes; I realize that this is part of what makes us human. We sin! Most of us know this. But honestly, I want to learn how to become closer to God, not ways in which I’m falling short. I don’t feel that God looks at us and sees just our sins. He sees his children in need of coaching and guidance and love. That is what I want to gain through attending a church service. Guidance. Now I’m going to place most of the blame on myself because I wasn’t able to fully open my mind and gain anything from the service once I became discouraged with the beginning messages. I will try attending again, and I’m praying for help in keeping an open mind, but today’s experience made me heartsick. I ended up coming back to the lodge and playing “Hallelujah” by the Canadian Tenors for an hour and a half and crying. Heartsick tears, made even worse by the fact that I knew my Granma was attending church at that moment and I couldn’t pour all my frustrations out and gain strength through her. It’s difficult to explain the sort of despair that happens when you are away from those you love, and seeking something, and not being able to obtain it. Hopefully you don’t all think I’m being a cry baby, but my heart has been heavy with this all day.

Thankfully, the day ended on a bright note. I took the noon meal out to the guys who were working calves. Along the way, I came upon this scene.

This is an all to familiar scene here in North Dakota. Many homes, with windmills, stand dilapidated and vacant. It’s sort of awe inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. Photos like this really make me want to delve into the past and find out who these people were. The utter desolation of the place, especially when you think of what probably wasn’t around when they stopped in that spot and decided to make their home. What caused them to leave? How long ago? Where did they come from? Oh how they must have struggled. And oh how little we know of true struggle in today’s era.

When I got to the pasture where they were vaccinating calves they had just finished sorting calves from cows, so I couldn’t have timed my arrival any better. Everyone was hungry and really seemed to enjoy dinner. Nothing fancy, just goulash, milky way salad, and toast. Oh, and plenty of hot coffee and hot cocoa. I hadn’t planned on sticking around to help, but ended up helping most of the afternoon. It was really nice to get out into the fresh air and do something fun after the mornings disappointment. And really, who can deny that something in this face doesn’t fill you with joy.

By the way, the high today was 40.

Thanks grampa for the legacy you’ll be leaving in a box of calendars.

I’m part of Soldiers Angels.

Soldiers Angels is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and their families. With over 30 different projects and teams, Soldiers Angels help soldiers and families of soldiers in unique and highly effective ways.

I myself write to 2 angels and am part of the “Blankets for Hope” Group. I’ve finished several quilts for wounded soldiers.

I’d have to say that working on a quilt for a wounded soldiers is a definite hi-lite of each of my weeks. Not only is the act of helping another personally gratifying, but I know that all of my efforts are going directly to soldiers and their families.

Please take a moment to visit Soldiers Angels website. Signing up to write and send needed items to a soldier is easy.

I found a few fun things today on Etsy. Etsy is a gold mine! Anything and everything a cowgirl’s heart desires can probably be found on Etsy.

So to start…

I love paper. Or anything associated with it. And really, the varying textures, colors, and “feels” of paper is what draws me to it. I can spend all day in a paper/stationary store just looking and touching. I found this adorable Etsy shop today and just had to feature it. Reds Kitten. These mini albums are what caught my attention, but the whole shop is delightful.

Next is SummerHouseDesigns. If I had a little girl, I’d be buying from this shop on a regular basis. Adorable! The dress in the following photo is the one that roped me into the store, but any of the dresses are cute. This just reminds me of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and we all know how much I adore anything Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I, myself, don’t usually wear earrings. I just feel that I have goofy ears and wearing earrings would make them look even goofier. However, I love these earrings. The little bit of vintage metal, with the turquoise stone…PERFECT! The shop is the Stone Wear Designs.

And in closing…have I ever mentioned how much I love copper? Love it! I want to redecorate my kitchen, and use a ton of copper accessories when I do so. I even posted this blog about it. Anyway, this darling Etsy shop, Cowgirls are Forever, has copper! Copper jewelry isn’t something I see often in cowgirl fashion, and I think this really is a shame. It’s such a reflective, yet warm metal. Here are the two necklaces I’m drooling over.

Enjoy! I know I did! If you know of any other shops that carry any copper jewelry…please let me know!

Have a beautiful weekend!
Jenny