Christmas Cards

Did you send out Christmas cards this year?

WE did.  We do every year. 

But this year I almost skipped it.

I wrote up a Christmas letter. 

It was almost a full page and really creative and cute (I thought). 

But I wanted to add a picture to fill up some empty spots. 

I didn’t care for the photo and went to delete it and for some reason I closed out! 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

I DIDN’T SAVE IT!

Oh sheesh…I was upset and pouted for a few days (maybe longer)

and told the hubs he was to write it.

Well that didn’t happen (shocker).

So earlier this week I sat down and wrote up a new Christmas letter. 

It was not a really letter just a top 12 of 2012.

Creative, I thought.

I printed them out, stuffed them, sealed them, and hand addressed them.

(because my computer crashed this past year)

I was ready to head to the post office and as I sat there I looked down at my “letter”.

I MISSPELLED SOMETHING!!!!

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to walk away…....

I really wanted to throw them away and be done!

But I really liked our photo this year...Seriously that was what held me back! :)

After a nice fatty lunch and some talking with my level headed hubs

I RE-printed, opened up every envelope, and RE-stuffed them with the correct spelling!

This is our card this year….

This is the “letter”

Everyday cowgirl: The Farmer’s Wife

I am excited to introduce you to this week’s “everyday cowgirl”

The Farmer’s Wife,

an agriculture advocate learning as she goes.

Some girls grow up knowing exactly what they want to do when they grow up. 

This week’s “everyday cowgirl” knew exactly what she DID NOT WANT TO DO! 

She did not want anything to do with the “stinky dairy farm” 

she passed on her way to and from school. 

She knew nothing of agriculture, farm life nor did she care too.

She thought all farmers were old, dirty & stinky.

THEN….She met a man….and fell in love. 

He was a Farmer….a dairy farmer.

(He was not old, stinky or dirty)

Guess where he lived???

You guessed it…..The “stinky dairy farm”.

They got married….she became The Farmer’s Wife

She had no idea what she signed up for when she said "I DO".

Dairy farming is not for the faint of heart!!!

But with her handsome farmer by her side it is a bit easier!

She was busy doing books, chores and learning as much as she could about agriculture

through hands one experience and also through research.

The Farmer’s Wife is a mother of 3.

A home school teacher and a soon to be 4-H mom.

The farmer does much of the work on his own.

He does have 3 part time employees.

They milk 170 cows in a double four parlor.

Finding and keeping good help has been a struggle over the years.

They have found themselves without hired help more than once. 

They always get through it.

The Farmer’s Wife is not afraid of hard work!

She pulled the kiddie pool into the milk house and a swing into the milk parlor.

That’s where her kids hung out so they could be close by as The Farmer and The Farmer’s Wife worked away!

They are currently sitting with some great hired help

but there is never enough hours in the day to get everything done.

So The Farmer’s Wife finds herself out working often.

Feeding calves, pushing cows, scraping the barn, raking stalls, and the list goes on…

And remember she is doing this with 3 kids!!!

The farmer came from a dairy background,

HE is a 4^th generation dairy farmer.

but he started from scratch in May 2009 with HUGE dreams

at the “stinky dairy farm”.

They are now becoming her dreams also!

And together they are making them happen!!!

The Farmer’s Wife is still learning a lot about dairy farming and agriculture.

She attends the local co-op and cattleman association meetings.

She is also not afraid to do things she has never done before.

The world of dairy farming has introduced her to A LOT OF NEW things!

She looks forward to the coming year, 

she already has plans to learn how to drive the chopper and AI cows.

She is currently on a mission to learn everything she can about agriculture

and to educate as many people about the true facts.

I recommend that you all follow her in her mission!

She is a new blogger http://adayinthelifeofthefarmerswife.blogspot.com

You can follow her at Twitte https://twitter.com/TheFarmersWifee

And also on facebook http://www.facebook.com/StuafferDairy

 

She prefers Facebook due to its convenience. 

(she is a bit busy)

She is very active on facebook and a lot of fun to follow! 

She may be living on the “stinky dairy farm” now but she still likes to look Farm Fabulous!

She has great style and posts cute outfits on her facebook page.

Go check her out now!

THANKS YOU SO MUCH for being an “everyday cowgirl”.

Your hard work, dedication, knowledge and enthusiasm

along with being a great mother and wife.

makes you an excellent “everyday cowgirl”

Are you an everyday cowgirl?

What is an everyday cowgirl?

Please send me your pictures and tell me how you are an “everyday cowgirl” at

chores_chandeliers@hotmail.com

don't pass up cheap lamps again!

It is so easy to find lamps for sale are auctions, garage sale or thrift shops. 

Some are pretty ugly but it is amazing what a little paint will do.

Many people are intimidated to buy lamps because often the plug or cord looks a bit iffy.

They worry about them working or fire hazards.

DON’T WORRY! IT’S AN EASY AND CHEAP FIX!!!!

I spray painted my lamps a blue color using a similar process as when I did the  

Farm Fabulous Chandi.

Then I changed the plugs. 

They had wires showing on the cord from where it was bent for so many years.

You only need....

The lamp cord (UNPLUGGED!!!!!)           

The new plug, which you can buy for less then $2 at any hardware store.

And a pair of scissors

Cut the cord (removing the bad portion)

Take the new plug apart.

Slide the outside portion (brown) down the cord.

Slip the inside part with prongs onto the end.

Push the prongs together and slide the outside portion over.

DONE!!!!!!

It is REALLY that easy!!!!

Now next time you see some questionable looking lamps at an auction or garage sale BUY THEM!!!!!!

  

****IMPORTANT***

 NO those are not my hands!!!! :) Those belong to my hubs.

He was afraid of my camera, so I had him do it!

I am a big DIY’er but I also know that many times it’s not cheaper to do DIY projects.

Which is OK sometimes…

·         if you just really want that unique one of a kind piece.

·         if it’s a family piece.

·         if it has special meaning

But sometimes it’s not worth the time, effort, or money put into it when you can buy it brand new for cheaper. 

This is not the case when it comes to lamps!!!

You can save a lot of money by redoing lamps!

 

Farm Fabulous Chandi

Ok, So when we bought our place the house was in pretty bad shape.   

We bought our place for the land and location not the house.  

 Over the past 2 years I have been able to make our house a home that we love.  

 But that being said there are still things we don’t love about our place.   

For instance, the living room has a suspended ceiling 

(you know like what you find in a basement).   

I want to change it but I know it would not be easy 

because there are other issues involved 

(I’m sure I’ll post about those at some time, just not now).  

 As much as I hate this eye sore it held a hidden gem!!!

I was peaking around the suspended ceiling one day 

(trying to gauge how hard it would be to change) 

and I saw a chandelier sitting up above the ceiling. 

It was still attached to the (real) ceiling. 

Weird!!! 

We decided to take it down. 

It was still wired in and working, they just loosened the bulbs so it did not light up. 

Who does that???

Well that is just one of the many times I have asked that question 

since moving in to this house!

All the bulbs are still working…SCORE!!!!

It was a bit corroded so we took it apart and cleaned it up some. 

Nothing major just some dawn dish soap and a little sandpaper.

Then I spray painted it red. 

I originally wanted it turquoise but a good turquoise spray paint color is a hard to find. 

There is one turquoise color I like but it is about $3-5 a can.

I know that’s not a lot but I did not want to spend much money on it.

BECAUSE………………………

It’s going in the barn!!!!!

 A couple weeks ago I mentioned that Dan cleaned out the back of the barn for 

“Perry the Pony”.

We are hanging the red Chandi in Perry’s room!  :)

So I decided to use a Wal-Mart brand and I picked red.   

It was only $1.50 a can and (I only used 1 can)

The price is right for a barn!!!

Free Chandi

$1.50 can of spray paint

Light bulbs all work in the chandi (those can add up)

I know it may seem a bit much to put up a chandelier in barn but for the price.

I couldn’t buy a basic ceramic pull chain light for the price.

And it would not be nearly as farm fabulous.

Spray painting it was easy. 

I laid the chandi pieces out and did 2 light coats.

This is key for a smooth finish. 

The more thin coats the better it will look. 

Many times people get in a hurry and try to cover it in one thick coat 

and then they get runs and streaks.

If you use good quality paint it dries fast and you can get 2 coats on in less than an hour. 

But I cheeped out and used the Wal-Mart band and it took HOURS for each coat to dry. 

I stuffed some toilet paper in the light bulb sockets. 

This just protects the connections.

(I usually leave the bad light bulbs in the socket when I spray them.  This way I know all the connections are protected and then once it’s dry you just unscrew the bad bulb and add a new bulb. EASY!!!!  But since the light bulbs were all working that was not an option, but TP worked fine)

Once I had 2 coats on I put the Chandelier back together.

Hung it outside on the clothes line.

Sprayed a thin coat to fix any nicks, scratched and to give an overall even coat.

Let it hang for 24 hours.

Then hung it up in the barn!!!!

I love it!

So does Perry (I think anyway)!

There are a few more things I hope to do to the room but for now I just really excited the Chandelier is up and looking FARM FABULOUS!